Pep Guardiola says the physical demands of the Champions League led to him changing Lionel Messi's position when he was in charge of Barcelona .
The current Manchester City boss was in charge at the Nou Camp for four seasons between 2008 and 2012, lifting the Champions League trophy in 2009 and 2011 courtesy of two victories over Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United in the final.
Messi has only lifted the trophy once since Guardiola's departure, when Barca beat Juventus in the Berlin final of 2015, and the dramatic semi-final defeat to eventual winners Liverpool in May has led to some fans wondering when they'll win the competition again.
Barca collapsed at Anfield, letting their 3-0 lead from the first leg slip as they lost 4-3 on aggregate.
But Guardiola refused to criticise manager Ernesto Valverde, instead pointing to the physical side of the game and also expanding on his comments from May when he claimed that the current Liverpool side are one of the best two teams he has coached against.
"I think they are there, the right players. They have always been there," Guardiola told Catalan publication Ara on a visit to Barcelona.
"I recently said that the two toughest rivals I have encountered in my career are Liverpool this year and Luis Enrique's Barca.
"The Champions League is very demanding... the defensive involvement in Europe is very large.
"That is one of the reasons I played Leo through the middle. I didn't want Leo to experience the physical wear and tear, so he could express his talent in the last 20 metres of the pitch.
"But at the Camp Nou against Liverpool he ran like a beast. If they had reached the Champions League final, they would have won."
