Pep Guardiola Vs. Lionel Messi: How many times they met and the record between them

Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola are perhaps the best combination of player and coach. The 6-time Ballon d'Or winner and the multi-award-winning coach first struck up a partnership at FC Barcelona. Both individuals delivered the best years for Barcelona for 4 years. From 2008 to 2012, Guardiola and Messi won numerous titles for Barcelona and they practically dominated the world of football. 

Lionel Messi & Pep Guardiola titles and records at FC Barcelona

When Guardiola took charge of Barcelona in 2008, he made Lionel Messi the centre of his team and this paid off for him. Both individuals combined to deliver 14 trophies for the Spanish club in 4 seasons. FC Barcelona won 4 La Liga titles during this period, totally dominating the Spanish domestic scene. They also won 2 UEFA Champions League titles, winning the treble in 2009. In 2009, Messi & Guardiola led Barcelona to win an unprecedented sextuple, that is, winning all the 6 competitions they were in.

Between 2008 and 2012, Messi was also at the peak of his powers. The Argentine forward scored 43 goals in only 47 UEFA Champions League matches. Of the 47 matches, Barcelona won 28, drew 15, and lost only 4 matches in 4 years on the European scene. Whilst the Catalan coach left the club and went on to coach Bayern Munich and now Manchester City, the Argentine playmaker stayed on at Barcelona for a while longer. 

Pep Guardiola Vs. Lionel Messi records and statistics

When Guardiola took charge at Bayern Munich, it was inevitable that he'd face off with Lionel Messi in the UEFA Champions League. This happened during the 2014/15 semifinals. In the first leg, Messi was the hero as he scored 2 goals in a 3-0 thrashing of Pep Guardiola's Manchester City. In the second leg, Bayern won 3-2 and managed to keep Messi goalless but the damage had already been done.

At Manchester City, Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi have crossed paths 3 times. First in the Group C games in 2016/17 UEFA Champions League season. In the first leg, Messi put Guardiola to the sword again, scoring a hat-trick as Barcelona ran out 4-0 winners at the Camp Nou. In the return leg, Manchester City won by a 3-1 margin with Lionel Messi scoring Barcelona's solitary goal. 

Most recently, Lionel Messi faced off with Pep Guardiola in the group stage of the 2021/22 UEFA Champions League but this time as a Paris Saint-Germain player. Lionel Messi scored the second goal for PSG in a 2-0 win at the Parc des Princes. Thus, in 5 meetings between the pair, Lionel Messi has won 3 times and scored 6 goals in total.