Lionel Messi exclusive: Argentina star hails Pep Guardiola as ‘the best’

Lionel Messi hailed his former coach Pep Guardiola in an exclusive interview with ESPN, saying he has “something different” and is the “best of all of them.”

The wide-ranging interview, which will be released in full at 8 a.m. ET (1 p.m. GMT), sees Messi praise his former boss Guardiola, who guided him at the start of his career.

“For me, Guardiola is unique,” Messi said.

“There are extraordinarily good coaches, but he has something different. For me, he’s the best of all of them.”

Messi was the key pillar of Guardiola’s Barcelona sides that won 14 major titles between 2008 and 2012.

The now-Inter Miami forward has worked with many coaches, but he places Guardiola above the rest.

“When it comes to seeing things, preparing for matches, and communicating with the players, he’s very complete,” Messi said.

“He’s the best, and we were lucky to have him at Barcelona.

“He got together with the players we had and the right pieces came together for what he intended, to achieve everything that was achieved.”

Messi said he is not only impressed by Guardiola’s success elsewhere but by the imprint he has left elsewhere.

“He went to other places and continued winning,” Messi said. “It’s not just because of winning but because of the way his teams played.

“He did at Bayern, although he couldn’t win the Champions League there, he changed the way the game was played in Germany, the same in England with City, he changed the way the league is played.”

After leaving Barça, Guardiola steered Bayern Munich to Bundesliga crowns in each of the three seasons, including two domestic doubles.

Since his arrival at City in 2016, Guardiola has won 18 trophies, among them six Premier League crowns and a Champions League. Guardiola, 54, recently celebrated his 1,000th game as a manager.

Meanwhile, Messi said he is hoping for more success with Argentina next year.

Argentina will enter the 2026 World Cup to be staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada as defending champions, after lifting the 2022 trophy in Qatar.

“This group is going to try again, they’re going to give it their all and fight,” he said. “Then, due to small details, you might be eliminated.”

Messi, 38, has played in five World Cups.

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner finally lifted the trophy when Argentina beat France on penalties in the final.

However, it was not all smooth sailing. Argentina were shocked in a 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their opening game.

“A World Cup is very difficult,” Messi said. “Any team can give you trouble, can knock you out. “The ball can hit the post and go in or out, you can lose on penalties.

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“In the last one, we were lucky that, even though we were the better team in both the Netherlands and France, we had to go to penalties, and there we had the beast that was [Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano] ‘Dibu’ [Martínez] who made us win. But you can get to penalties and not win.

“A World Cup is very difficult.”

The draw for next year’s World Cup will take place on Friday in Washington DC.