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Nov 20 (Reuters) – Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola said he’s not sure what the future holds for Lionel Messi, but hopes as a Barcelona fan that the Argentine striker will stay at the La Liga club until the end of his season. career.
Guardiola, who led City to two Premier League titles, three League Cups and the FA Cup following his arrival in 2016, signed a new two-year deal on Thursday that will keep him in office until the end of the 2022-23 season.
The extension of the former Barca manager to City opened up the possibility of a reunion with Messi in England, with the player in the final year of his current contract in Spain attempting unsuccessfully to leave the club in the closed season.
“Messi is a Barcelona player. If you ask me my opinion, I am grateful for what Barcelona have done for me. I want him to finish his career there,” Guardiola told reporters ahead of Saturday’s away match in the Premier League at the Tottenham Hotspur.
“I’d like to, I’d like to, I’ve said it a thousand times. As a Barcelona fan I would like his career to end there. I don’t know what he has in mind, for now he is a Barcelona player. The transfer market is in June. This is just the half in our minds “.
Guardiola’s immediate focus will be on the Spurs, second, who could lead the standings with the win. City will not have the versatile midfielder Fernandinho due to an illness.
“… A lot of players are back except Nathan (Ake), Fernandinho. We have a lot of games, so it will be important that everyone is fit,” added Guardiola.
“Sergio (Aguero) is training this week and Raheem (Sterling) was the first to train with the team today.”
Sterling sustained a calf injury while training for England ahead of the Belgium game, while Ake were eliminated at the start of the Netherlands’ game against Spain on 12 November with a muscle injury. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru Edited by Toby Davis)
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