COLUMN: The relapse suffered by the Spain midfielder means that Guardiola is planning for most of the season without the only player he specifically asked for upon joining

By Peter Staunton

Imagine Barcelona without Lionel Messi.

There is no way they could have been as successful as they have been without the Argentine in their line-up. Pep Guardiola's tenure as coach at Camp Nou brought the best football of Messi's career and elevated him to his position as one of the best players on the planet.

Guardiola designed Barcelona around Messi. He simply did not slot him in and hope it worked. As Samuel Eto'o, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Villa learned, Messi was the main man. Irreproachable. Guardiola won 14 titles with Messi as his key player.

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