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Lionel Messi regularly asks Argentinian team-mate and friend Sergio Aguero about the Manchester City player.
In 2016, Manchester City appointed Guardiola as head coach, and Barcelona players began to pay attention to the club.
Messi considers Guardiola to have had a major influence on his career and is the best coach he has ever worked with.
The Daily Telegraph stated that Manchester City has always had a “certain degree of attraction” at the Camp Nou due to Guardiola’s involvement.
Eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi has taken an eye on Guardiola’s players. One in particular caught his attention.
Messi and Javier Mascherano are said to have regularly contacted Aguero to inquire about Phil Foden’s development.
The pair asked Foden, who was coming to prominence at the Etihad Stadium, “what that kid was like”.
Since then, he has gone from strength to strength. Foden helped his team win five Premier League titles, four League Cups, two FA Cups and the Champions League as a child.
This season, with Kevin De Bruyne absent, the England international has scored 5 goals and 4 assists from the midfield position.
He has spent most of his City career as a winger, although Guardiola believes he has all the tools to move towards the center, just as Messi has done throughout his career.
Guardiola explained in February: “He can play there but I still feel he is still young and needs some maturity to understand what is going on in between to interpret what is going on.”
“When you play (on the wing) and you move to the right and do these things, a lot happens in the middle and you have to read what’s going on to react correctly. Also, he’s still young. He The skills to do that, absolutely.
“The moves he made at Nottingham, like shooting and passing for Erling (Haaland), were Messi’s position in attack at that period and it was perfect for Phil.
“Phil does that very well, in the pocket, on the right, just like Kevin (De Bruyne) plays.”
You can understand why Messi showed interest. The two are very similar on the court. Manchester City will face Liverpool on Saturday afternoon.