As PSG takes on Man City, Guardiola and Messi will once again meet. AFP
There was a time when Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola appeared to be on the verge of reuniting, but when Paris Saint-Germain takes on Manchester City in the Champions League on Tuesday, they will be on opposite sides once more.
Perhaps things might have turned out differently if it hadn't been for Jack Grealish.
On August 5, City announced the £100 million ($139 million) purchase of Grealish from Aston Villa, the same day Barcelona announced Messi's departure from the Camp Nou.
When Messi tried to push his way out of Catalonia a year ago, City appeared to be the most likely destination.
Barcelona eventually stopped the six-time Ballon d'Or winner from leaving at the time, and 12 months later, Messi was willing to stay until it became evident that he couldn't because of the Camp Nou's financial problems.
City might have moved for Messi if they had known he would become available. Instead, they concentrated their efforts on Grealish, attempting to sign Harry Kane, a transfer that finally fell through.
When asked if City may make a play for Messi, Guardiola answered, "Right now it is not in our thoughts."
The fact that PSG was the only other plausible option for the 34-year-old, whom Guardiola has dubbed "the greatest player of all time," says a lot about the current game.
Messi has yet to score in three appearances for his new team. With a knee ailment, he has missed PSG's previous two matches, but it appears that Mauricio Pochettino has been sparing him for City.
On their road to capturing the trophy, Barcelona defeated Guardiola's Bayern 5-3 on aggregate. Messi put on a masterful display to score two late goals in a 3-0 first-leg victory at the Camp Nou that basically ended the tie.
The only previous occasion the two had met came in the group stage of the 2016 Champions League, shortly after Guardiola's arrival at City.
Messi scored a hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-0 victory at Camp Nou, and then put his team ahead in Manchester, but City prevailed 3-1.
