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Guardiola and Messi meet again as PSG play Man City in Champions League

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There was a time when a reunion between Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola looked distinctly possible, but on Tuesday (Sept 28) they will be on opposite sides again when Paris Saint-Germain play Manchester City in the Champions League.

Had it not been for Jack Grealish, perhaps things would have turned out differently.

City announced the £100 million signing of Grealish from Aston Villa on August 5, the same day Barcelona revealed Messi would not be staying at the Camp Nou.

A year ago, when Messi tried to force his departure from Catalonia, City appeared the most likely destination.

In the end Barcelona prevented the six-time Ballon d’Or winner from leaving then and 12 months later Messi was prepared to stay put until it became clear the financial mess at the Camp Nou  meant he could not.

If City had anticipated Messi becoming available, they might have moved for him. But instead they focused their sights on Grealish and were trying to sign Harry Kane,  a move that ultimately didn’t happen.

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“Right now it is not in our thoughts,” Guardiola said when asked if City might move for Messi.

It says much about the modern game that PSG were the only other realistic destination for the 34-year-old whom Guardiola has described as the greatest player of all time.

Messi has played just three games for his new club and is yet to score. He has sat out PSG’s last two matches with a knee problem  but the feeling is that Mauricio Pochettino has been saving him for City.

After being held 1-1 by Club Brugge in their opening game, PSG need a positive result against City to stop their rivals taking control of their Champions League group.

Messi will fancy opening his account in Paris on such an occasion, and Guardiola has already been on the receiving end of the Argentine’s genius in Europe.

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After Guardiola left Barcelona in 2012 at the end of four glorious years in which he oversaw Messi’s transition from superstar in the making to the best in the world, he faced his old club for the first time in the Champions League semi-finals in 2015.

Barcelona beat Guardiola’s Bayern 5-3 on aggregate on the way to winning the trophy. Messi produced a sublime performance to score two late goals in a 3-0 first-leg win at the Camp Nou that effectively killed the tie.

The only other time the duo have come up against each other was in the group stage in 2016, just after Guardiola arrived at City.

Messi scored a hat-trick as Barca won 4-0 at the Camp Nou and he then put his side ahead in Manchester, but City won 3-1.

This time the expectation is both City and PSG will progress from their group and both men are desperate to win the Champions League again – the last of Messi’s four titles came in 2015, while Guardiola has not lifted the trophy since Messi inspired Barcelona to a 3-1 win over Manchester United in the 2011 final.

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While the world waits to see how Messi’s move to Paris turns out, Guardiola continues to regret the absence of a prolific centre-forward as the final piece of his jigsaw at City.

That was evident on Saturday when, for all their chances, they were restricted to a single goal by Gabriel Jesus  to a 1-0 win at Chelsea.

Prior to that Guardiola had spoken of his regret at City’s lack of a “weapon” up front.

“The club needs in the next years a striker. When it’s not possible, it’s not possible, we move on with the fantastic squad we have,” he said.

PSG, of course, have more than one such player. Kylian Mbappe has been the top scorer in France in each of the last three seasons.

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Messi left Barcelona as their all-time top scorer with 672 goals in 778 appearances.

His peak at the Camp Nou came in Guardiola’s final season there, in 2011-12, when he scored an incredible 73 goals.

Nobody knows Messi’s game better than Guardiola, but nobody knows better than Pep that there is no stopping Messi when he is at the top of his game.

-AFP

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Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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Ronaldo reaches one billion followers on social media

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Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo crossed one billion followers across his social media accounts, aided by his newly-launched YouTube channel that has attracted more than 60 million subscribers in just over three weeks.

Ronaldo, who scored his 900th career goal last week to help Portugal beat Croatia 2-1 in the Nations League, is the first human being to reach a billion followers on social media, global media reports said.

“We’ve made history, one billion followers! This is more than just a number, it’s a testament to our shared passion, drive, and love for the game and beyond,” Ronaldo posted on X.

“You’ve been with me every step of the way, through all the highs and the lows. This journey is our journey… thank you for believing in me, for your support, and for being part of my life.”

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The former Manchester United and Real Madrid player reached the milestone with over 639 million followers on Instagram, 170 million on Facebook and 113 million on X.

The 39-year-old topped Forbes’ list of highest-paid athletes this year, with off-field earnings of $60 million, boosted by his large social media following.

Ronaldo’s club Al-Nassr will host Al-Ahli in the Saudi Pro League on Friday.

-Reuters

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Over a million subscribe as Ronaldo launches YouTube channel

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Euro 2024 - Quarter Final - Portugal v France - Hamburg Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany - July 5, 2024 Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo after taking a penalty during the penalty shootout REUTERS/Fabian Bimmer/File photo

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo launched his YouTube channel on Wednesday and hundreds of thousands of subscribers signed up within a couple of hours.

The 39-year-old five-times Ballon D’Or winner plays for Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr.

“The wait is over. My @YouTube channel is finally here! SIUUUbscribe and join me on this new journey,” Ronaldo posted on his social media accounts.

A couple of hours after posting his first video, 1.69M subscribers had joined he channel.

Ronaldo has 112.5 million followers on the X platform, 170 million on Facebook and 636 million on Instagram.

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The former Real Madrid and Manchester United player is preparing for his team’s Saudi Pro League opener against Al-Raed on Thursday.

-Reuters

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Lionel Messi set to hang boots

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Messi Sets Record Straight Over Hong Kong Absence -

Inter Miami will be the last club Argentina captain Lionel Messi plays for, the 36-year-old forward said on Wednesday, adding he feels “a little bit scared” at the thought of the day he decides to retire.

Messi, a World Cup winner with Argentina in 2022, has a contract with the Major League Soccer side until 2025 following his arrival last summer after a spell with French champions Paris St Germain.

“Inter Miami will be my last club. I love playing football. I enjoy everything even more because I am aware that there is less and less left,” Messi told ESPN.

“I’m not ready to leave football. I’ve done this all my life, I love playing football, I enjoy training, the day-to-day, the matches… And yes, there’s always a little bit of fear that it’s all over.”

The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi is preparing with his national team to defend their Copa America title, with the tournament kicking off on June 20 in the United States.

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Argentina will take on Canada in the opening match before facing Group A rivals Chile on June 25 and Peru four days later.

-Reuters

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