
‘Brucey was crying' – What Pep Guardiola said to Steve Bruce about Lionel Messi left him in tears
PEP GUARDIOLA left Steve Bruce in tears of laughter during a conversation about bringing Lionel Messi to Manchester City.
A reunion between the pair was on the cards in 2020 when Messi's contract with Barcelona started to wind down.
4
4
Messi was said to have been convinced by his old manager to move to the Etihad but performed a U-turn due to his belief Barca would offer him a new deal.
That deal didn't end up coming to fruition and he ended up joining Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer in August 2021.
The prospect of Messi moving to the Prem quickly became the talk of players and managers alike.
And at Premier League meeting with all the managers present, former Burnley boss Sean Dyche quizzed Guardiola about his pursuit of the footie icon while getting a cup of tea with Bruce.
During an appearance on talkSPORT, he recalled: "I said, 'What was that thing about Lionel Messi?'
"He (Guardiola) goes, 'Sean, Steve, I tell you this. Lionel, he said no way can he come to Manchester City.
"Because I tell Lionel it rains. 'It rains and rains. And when it stops raining, it rains again.'
"Then he goes, 'Lionel, on a Monday night, you have to go to Burnley, Sean's team.
JOIN SUN VEGAS: GET £50 BONUS
4
"And they go bang, bang, bang, bang, bang.' Brucey was crying!"
Dyche, 53, added: "I went, 'That's exactly what we're going to do, Pep You warned him correctly.'
Lionel Messi gives rare insight into his relationship with Cristiano Ronaldo
"Me and Brucey were crying, honestly. It was genius. Pep, brilliant."
The prospect of eight-time Ballon d'Or winner Messi rocking up at Turf Moor tickled Dyche, who said: "Imagine that.
"His face turning up at Turf Moor going, 'What on earth? "
"Absolutely smashing it down with rain, wind blowing across and knocking you over."
Messi spent two seasons with PSG before upping sticks to the MLS to join David Beckham co-owned Inter Miami.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Daily Mail
7 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Chelsea 'open talks to sign PSG star' amid doubts over Nicolas Jackson's future after his 'stupid' red card at the Club World Cup
Chelsea have opened talks to sign Paris Saint-Germain striker Randal Kolo Muani, according to a report. Kolo Muani joined the French side from Eintracht Frankfurt for £76million in 2023 but struggled for regular playing time. The 26-year-old moved to Juventus on loan in January and has thrived in Italy with 10 goals in 20 appearances across all competitions. Juventus are said to be keen on keeping the forward, who scored a brace in their 5-1 win over Al -Ain in the Club World Cup. However, they face competition from Chelsea, who have entered negotiations to sign Kolo Muani, according to L'Equipe. Enzo Maresca 's side have already strengthened their attack this summer with the £30m arrival of Liam Delap from Ipswich. The Blues' interest in Kolo Muani comes amid doubts over Nicolas Jackson's future at Stamford Bridge. Jackson has led the line for Chelsea over the last past seasons, scoring 30 goals in 80 appearances across all competitions. However, he has drawn criticism from fans and pundits for his lack of efficiency in front of goal as well as his poor discipline, having been sent off in Chelsea's 3-1 loss to Flamengo in the Club World Cup. Just a month ago, Jackson's Premier League season ended prematurely when he was sent off for a similar challenge against Newcastle on May 11 and handed a three-match ban. And Obi Mikel, who was working as a pundit for DAZN did not hold back when he was asked about the latest incident. '(It was) Unbelievable. Stupid, stupid, stupid mistake,' said Obi Mikel won two Premier League titles and the Champions League with Chelsea. 'I don't know what was going through his head. You come into the game, you are 2-1 down at that point. Your team needs you. And he does that. 'He did it in a league game at Newcastle. Again, a very important game which we needed to win to qualify for the Champions League. He did that, he got a red card. And now he's done this. You can't keep making mistakes.' But it was when host Ke lySomers suggested that Jackson's frustration may have boiled over from frustration at losing his place to Delap that Obi Mikel really lost his cool. 'I don't care what his frustration is,' Obi Mikel reacted angrily. 'It's a football club. It's a massive football club and it's about competition. If you're p***ed off that Delap's coming to the football club and he's going to be the competition with you... you have to embrace it if you are a big player. 'Because the only way you are going to win trophies if is if you are compete against each other.' It was at this point that Somers was forced to say sorry to viewers for her guest's language. 'Lots of emotion in the studio, so apologies for any language used there,' she said, holding out both hands in a calming gesture towards Obi Mikel. After the match, Jackson took to social media to apologise for his actions. Writing on Instagram, he said: 'I want to say sorry. To the club, the staff, my team-mates, and all the fans watching, I let you down. Another red card... and honestly, I'm so angry at myself. 'I work hard every day to help the team not to put us in this kind of situation. I still don't fully understand how it happened. But one thing is clear: it wasn't intentional. Just a football moment that went the wrong way. No excuses. I take full responsibility.


BBC News
9 minutes ago
- BBC News
Glastonbury festival begins and Squid Game ends: What's coming up this week
Did you get tickets to Glastonbury festival this year? Not to worry if not, you can watch from the comfort of your own home on BBC that's not all the next seven days have in store Game is coming to an end with season three, Brad Pitt is speeding into UK cinemas with his new film F1 and gaming auteur Hideo Kojima is releasing the sequel to Death on for what's coming up this week... More than 90 hours of music from Glastonbury By Mark Savage, music correspondent The UK's biggest festival opens its doors on Wednesday, with fans gathering at the Pyramid Stage to see headline sets from The 1975, Olivia Rodrigo and Neil you weren't one of the lucky 175,000 people who got a ticket, though, you can follow all the action at home. The BBC is there all week, with live coverage across TV, radio and iPlayer - covering all the main stages, with more than 90 hours of whet your appetite, there's already a Glastonbury Hits Channel on iPlayer, streaming classic tracks from previous years – with highlights including Oasis, Little Simz, The Who and Lady if you're heading down to Worthy Farm, and can't be bothered fighting for a position at the main stages, I'd recommend a visit to the Avalon field – which might just have this year's best can relive your 2000s indie disco dreams with Hard-Fi, The Fratellis and Ash; check out some of 2025's best new indie artists, courtesy of Orla Gartland and Rachael Chinouriri; and celebrate the memory of Amy Winehouse, with an hour-long set from her former band. Netflix brings Squid Game to an end After taking the world by storm, Squid Game is coming to an end on launching in 2021, its first season racked up more than 265 million views making it Netflix's most-watched show ever. The second season isn't far behind, with about 192.6 million watches, landing it at number three on the story follows Seong Gi-hun who competes in deadly children's games for a chance to win a cash prize that could erase his enormous and director Hwang Dong-hyuk, who lost teeth from the stress of making the show, called the ending "bittersweet". Initially imagining the series stretching across five seasons, Dong-hyuk found a natural ending point during writing. He explained: "I'm relieved because I finally get out of the Squid Game world, but at the same time I have to say goodbye to all the good memories... So it is kind of sad in that way."Lead star Lee Jung-jae added: "It hasn't sunk in with me yet... When I get to see how the fans respond to it maybe I can be ready to say goodbye to Squid Game and Seong Gi-hun." Hideo Kojima delivers star-studded gaming sequel By Tom Richardson, Newsbeat reporter Depending on who you speak to, Hideo Kojima is either a visionary prophet or a self-indulgent, wannabe movie-maker. But there's no doubting he's one of the most influential video game designers of all time – and he's got a new one out this Death Stranding 2, out on PlayStation 5 from Thursday, picks up the story of protagonist Sam Porter Bridges, a delivery man who lugs precariously balanced cargo across a post-apocalyptic only got four paragraphs here, so won't attempt to recap the – ahem – complex plot (Kojima's storylines and love of long cinematic sequences are the biggest source of "self-indulgence" accusations), but early signs point to a deeper, more varied experience in the moment-to-moment although people criticise them, Kojima's previous scripts have anticipated real-world events such as the rise of online misinformation and the Covid-19 pandemic with eerie accuracy. So maybe you shouldn't skip the cutscenes, acted by an all-star cast including Norman Reedus, Léa Seydoux and Elle Fanning. Brad Pitt races into cinemas Brad Pitt is not cutting corners when it comes to bringing F1 to the big and his co-star Damson Idris were spotted speeding real cars around Silverstone while filming during the 2023 and 2024 Grand Prix. Pitt plays burnt-out racer Sonny Hayes who is pulled out of retirement to help fictional team Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kosinski is behind the camera, he's been keen to make sure the film feels authentic to fans of the sport. There's a thumping Hans Zimmer score, stunning shots of international race courses and realistic high-speed crashes that will make the whole cinema you're an F1 fan there are a lot of Easter eggs to be hunting for- the film is stuffed with cameos including drivers such as Lewis Hamilton and commentators David Croft and Martin film is in cinemas from Wednesday. Other highlights this week Jordan Gray's Transaction starts on ITV2 and ITVX on TuesdayIronheart, a new Marvel series, starts on Disney+ on WednesdayAmol Rajan Goes to the Ganges, airs on BBC One and iPlayer on WednesdayThe Bear, series 4, all 10 episodes arrive on Disney+ on ThursdayLorde's album Virgin drops on FridayM3GAN 2.0 is released in cinemas on Friday24 Hours in Police Custody starts Sunday on Channel 4


BBC News
11 minutes ago
- BBC News
Wales beat hosts Poland for third in Nations Cup 2
Wales secured bronze with a 1-0 win against host Poland in the inaugural FIH Women's Nations Cup 2 semi-final in Roberts scored winner in the third quarter as Wales made up for the disappointment of not reaching the were beaten 2-1 by Pool A winners Uruguay in Saturday's semi-finals with the South Americans awaiting their fate against Pool B table-toppers France in Sunday's drew 3-3 against Italy in their tournament opener and went on to beat Czechia 2-0 before reaching the semi-finals despite losing 2-1 to France in their final group game.