Guardiola made a choice between Maradona and Messi

Manchester City head coach Josep Guardiola has compared the legendary Diego Maradona to the equally legendary Lionel Messi.

Josep Guardiola, Getty Images

- I saw Messi and Maradona play. What is the difference between Messi? I remember the pre-season tour. He came back from Argentina very tired. It was 0-0 after the first half, and Leo was on the bench. The organisers of the tournament asked to release Messi because they might not pay. Messi came on for the last 20 minutes and scored a hat-trick.

Maradona was once the strongest footballer, but after what I saw... I'm sorry, but Lionel is something completely different," said Josep Guardiola.

It is worth reminding that Josep Guardiola worked at the Catalan club Barcelona, for which Lionel Messi played, from 2008 to 2012.