'Pep Guardiola is from another world,' Messi declared. 'He’s different, he sees things no one else does. He changed football. Everyone wanted to copy us.'

'But he kind of did harm to football, because people tried to play like our Barcelona. We were a special team...that midfield Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, everything was perfect between players and coach.'

Guardiola's success with Bayern Munich, Manchester City, and Barcelona has been legendary. But Messi hinted at a shocking return to the La Liga giants, saying, 'I had the intention of returning to Barcelona and being able to go back to a place I always wanted to be, but it wasn’t possible again (due to Barcelona’s financial restraints)'.

'After that, it (deciding on a new club) became a family decision. The fact that we won the World Cup also had a big impact. I was clear that I didn’t want to be at another team in Europe, I didn’t want to go to any of them.'