The ex-Manchester City star sheds a shocking light on Pep Guardiola’s bizarre rule to avert Lionel Messi’s Barcelona injuries

The former France winger has shed some light on the tactics of his former boss Pep Guardiola, who claimed Guardiola introduced a sex rule at Barcelona which helped protect Lionel Messi from injury.

Pep Guardiola is the President of Messi FC❤️ pic.twitter.com/6nlCIbkWY6

– facts April 26, 2023

Messi’s early career raised concerns about his fitness at the Camp Nou. Given his smaller physical appearance, it was a dormant fear as to whether he would be able to compete at a professional level.

Messi’s innate skills often meant he was aggressively challenged on the pitch, resulting in him picking up punches and injuries quite often. To prevent that, Guardiola had introduced a unique rule – no sexual activity after midnight.

Apparently his strategy was successful. As revealed by Samir Nasri, Pep implemented the same in his Manchester City squad and revealed that it helped the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner succumb to injuries.

In an interview with L’Equipe, Nasri said: “On a day off, Guardiola told us that anyone who wants to have sexual relations should do so before midnight because they need to get a good night’s sleep. He says he did it with Messi and hasn’t had a muscle injury since.”

The former Arsenal and Manchester City winger played under Guardiola during his time at Manchester City after the manager took over from the Cityzens in 2016. Nasri was a regular in Guardiola’s squad in the 2015/16 season before he was loaned out to Sevilla.

Guardiola has denied the claims about Lionel Messi

Pep Guardiola has denied the allegations and addressed the widespread interest in his unconventional schemes, sharing his take on the secret procedure.

“It’s impossible to play good football if you don’t have sex with your partner,” he said. “I would never ban that. If you do it, you play better.”

Pep Guardiola was very successful during his time at Barcelona, ​​winning six times in the 2009/10 season. Messi established himself as one of the best players under his reign and still thinks highly of his former manager.