According to a new book, Lionel Messi spoke with Pep Guardiola to discuss a move to Manchester City in the summer of 2020.

Messi famously made the phrase ‘burofax’ popular across the world and sparked an institutional crisis at Barcelona when he demanded that his contract be terminated. According to Marti Perarnau’s new book, God Save Pep, Messi expressed interest in joining City via a WhatsApp message from Sergio Aguero, who stated that his international teammate had inquired how long Guardiola was under contract for. Messi and Guardiola then exchanged direct messages, which led to a meeting at Guardiola’s home in Barcelona.

The duo are believed to have had a candid conversation, with Guardiola impressing on his former player how rigorous Manchester’s training schedule was and warning his former protégé about the city’s notoriously rainy environment. Messi, according to Perarnau, remained determined about leaving.

Ultimately, the chat was academic, with Messi unable to legally exit his contract after making the request after the deadline had passed. Barcelona held firm behind the player’s €700 million (£605 million/$767 million) release clause.

Messi eventually agreed to extend his contract for the last year, announcing his decision in an exclusive interview with GOAL. A year later, Messi’s contract ended, and the club was unable to renew it due to La Liga’s financial fair play rules. However, it was Paris Saint-Germain, not City, who were able to reach an agreement with the player.

Marti Perarnau, the author of the fresh allegations, has already been granted extraordinary access to Guardiola. The author spent an entire season shadowing Guardiola at Bayern Munich for his 2014 book, Pep Confidential.

With the MLS currently on vacation and no internationals scheduled until next year, Messi has some rare opportunity to relax and possibly read Perarnau’s new book.