Getafe came close to signing Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola, claims club president

Barcelona legend Lionel Messi and manager Pep Guardiola enjoyed a fruitful relationship at Camp Nou resulting in unprecedented success for the club. Guardiola was the manager of Barcelona B and took over the role in the senior team in 2009 and won the treble in his debut season, with Messi being a focal point of his system. In a recent interview, Getafe president Angel Torres revealed how the club came close to signing both Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola. 

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Messi transfer: Getafe president reveals club came close to signing Lionel Messi and Guardiola

In a recent interview with Spanish outlet Marca, Getafe president Angel Torres revealed that he had good relations with former Barcelona president Joan Laporta and tried to make the most of that in the past. Torres said that during Lionel Messi's first or second year in the first team, Getafe came close to bringing the Argentine international on loan. However, then Barcelona manager Frank Rijkaard rejected the move and Messi stayed put at Camp Nou. 

The Getafe president also revealed that Laporta was ready to let Guardiola join the Azulones. Angel Torres claimed that then Getafe manager Michael Laudrup was touted as a successor to Rijkaard at Barcelona and the now Manchester City boss would sign for Getafe as a replacement. However, the move never materialised as Txiki Begiristain pushed for Pep Guardiola to be Barcelona boss which led to the Spanish club's run of European dominance, leaving Getafe wondering what might have been.

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Barcelona's period of dominance under Guardiola

Post the Lionel Messi transfer rumours, Pep Guardiola enjoyed four trophy-laden years as Barcelona boss since his surprise appointment in 2009. The Catalan boss won the treble in his debut season at Camp Nou, winning the LaLiga, the Spanish Cup and the Champions League beating defending champions Manchester United. The year 2009 saw Barcelona win six trophies in the calendar year. In his third season, Guardiola led the Blaugrana to their third successive LaLiga title and in his final season bowed out with a Champions League win.

During Pep Guardiola's four-year tenure, Barcelona lifted a massive 14 trophies, and Lionel Messi amassed a staggering 211 goals across all competitions. Since then, the former Barcelona captain has moved on to manage Bayern Munich and Manchester City. Messi, on the other hand, has stayed put and is the club's leading goal-scorer and captain. 

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