Pep Guardiola warned Lionel Messi about Sean Dyche's Burnley

Updated: 23 Jun, 2025 • 0 • min read

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Pep Guardiola warned Lionel Messi about Sean Dyche's Burnley

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When Lionel Messi contacted Pep Guardiola in 2020 about a possible move to Manchester City, the Spanish coach gave his former Barcelona star a reality check about life in the Premier League, and it hilariously involved Sean Dyche's Burnley.

In the book "The Pep Revolution", it's revealed that Messi and Guardiola had a six-hour conversation in August 2020, as the Argentine considered a dramatic switch from Barcelona.

Despite Guardiola warning Messi that things might not be the same after eight years apart, the forward was reportedly still keen.

However, the transfer never materialised as Messi remained in Spain until 2021, eventually leaving on a free transfer to join Paris Saint-Germain.

But in the background, rumours were swirling - enough to catch the attention of then-Burnley boss Dyche.

"Bang, Bang, Bang": Guardiola's Hilarious Take on Burnley

Speaking on talkSPORT, Dyche recalled the moment at a Premier League managers' meeting shortly after Covid restrictions eased.

The managers were allowed to mingle again, and Dyche found himself at the tea table with former Newcastle United manager Steve Bruce when Guardiola approached.

I said, "What was that thing about Lionel Messi?"

[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. And they go bang, bang, bang, bang, bang." Brucey was crying!

The Turf Moor Test

Dyche wasn't offended - in fact, he fully embraced Guardiola's brutally accurate depiction.

I went, "That's exactly what we're going to do, Pep. You warned him correctly."

Me and Brucey were crying, honestly.

Now, picture this: one of football's greatest players slogging it out on a wet Monday night in front of 21,944 fans at Turf Moor, trying to break through a rigid 4-4-2.

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.

Sean Dyche's Burnley Legacy

Whilst Burnley's football under Dyche wasn't always pretty, it was effective.

He kept the club in the Premier League for six seasons and led them to a shock 7th-place finish in 2017/18, earning a Europa League spot.

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