Pep Guardiola answered the Lionel Messispeculation with the customary emphatic shake of the head and firm denial.
He had not, and would not, try to influence the brilliant little Barcelona player to sign for Manchester City , and hoped that he finished his career at the Nou Camp, the ultimate one-club man.
But then, with a twinkle in his eye, he added a little rider: “But maybe one day the lad will decide that he wants to play somewhere else.
“Maybe he will want his kids to learn English, I don’t know. And if that happens, which I hope it won’t, then there will be a list of four, five or six clubs who will want to sign him.”
This was two and a half years ago, as the Blues boss was preparing to face the club where he made his name in the Champions League .
Rumours had circulated, in the bear-pit which is Catalan football and politics, that Guardiola had been trying to induce some of his former players – including Messi – to the Etihad Stadium.
The denial was firm, but the off-the-cuff follow-up remark was perhaps leaving the door open, or planting a seed. Choose your metaphor.
With every week that passes, the remote chances of Messi ever leaving become even more distant – and his tour de force in the 3-0 win over Liverpool last night underlined the power of the binds that tie.
But the hierarchy at City firmly believe that if Messi ever did decide to move, and stay in Europe, they would be his prime destination.
That moment, when Messi may have been contemplating life away from a club he joined at 14, may already have come and gone.
In 2016, just as Guardiola was getting his feet under the desk at City, Messi was found guilty of tax fraud and initially sentenced to 21 months in prison, later commuted to a heavy fine.
That sparked rumours that he was unhappy with the authorities and might even consider a move. City were all ears.
When the Blues appointed Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain as chief executive and football director respectively, in 2012, the intent was clear.
They wanted Guardiola, and if they could one day land Messi as well, that would be a huge bonus.
Soriano was close to Guardiola when they worked together at Barca – as chief executive he appointed the B team coach to the hot seat, with football director Begiristain – a former teammate of Pep – pushing hard.
Guardiola’s relationship with Messi was not all sweetness and light. It was based on mutual professional respect, but the coach has always kept a sensible trench between himself and his players.
And once Guardiola left Barca, the two men did not stay in touch.
It was different with Soriano and Begiristain. Part of their job at Barca had been to keep the club’s biggest single asset happy, and the two suits and the star player were regular visitors to each others’ homes.
They HAVE stayed in social contact with Messi, a contact which has reinforced their belief that any pursuit of the player would be pointless.
Messi is 31, and even though he is still performing at a sublime level, there will come a point where he starts on a downward slope, and that has to be borne in mind for any club who feels it has a chance of grabbing him.
City can match Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, Manchester United and the rest in terms of transfer fee and wage offer.
But they have the added advantage of also having Guardiola, Soriano, Begiristain and Messi’s close pal Sergio Aguero – who has been happy in his eight years at City – as added attractions.
The chances of it happening are distant, and becoming more remote by the minute, but City would be in the box-seat if the unthinkable happened.
