This, of course, is why they waited for him, courted him, put everything in place to make it just right. At the sixth time of asking in the Champions League, Manchester City defeated Barcelona. Not by luck, but judgement. They deserved this. They were the better team.
City had a worthy penalty appeal turned down, and missed more chances than they scored. Pep Guardiola's high press put a fragile Barcelona back line under pressure, and the scoreline did not flatter the winners.
It was a great night, maybe a turning point, for Guardiola. Ilkay Gundogan, his summer signing, scored twice – the first-half equaliser and the 74th-minute goal that clinched it. And while the defensive frailties remain, after last season's semi-final appearance, this was a performance that suggests City could be genuine contenders this season. Just as Guardiola's employers hoped.
The third encapsulated City's supremacy. Kevin De Bruyne put a beautiful pass in behind Barcelona's back four, Jesus Navas crossed and when Sergio Aguero could not get the required contact, the ball fell kindly for Gundogan to strike home. Barcelona had been opened up, as City were at Nou Camp. For once, the coach allowed himself a brief celebration, a fist pump and a purposeful stride back to his bench. That's real joy in Guardiola sign language. He felt it, and so did they.
Not that Barcelona usually require assistance, but Pep Guardiola is now finding out what it is like to fight against European aristocracy, rather than be part of it.
Undoubtedly, Barcelona do occasionally benefit from home field advantage , even when they are away. Basically, the Champions League is their home field.
They are its favourite sons, their football its finest expression. So referees do not like to believe that Barcelona are fallible, that their defenders dive in, that they give penalties away like mere mortals.
That is what happened after 11 minutes when Manchester City should have been afforded the opportunity to take a lead – but instead found themselves the victims of a yellow card, and some rough justice.
Sergio Aguero found Raheem Sterling who was tripped by Samuel Umtiti. It really is no more complicated than that. If we are searching for explanations it could be argued that Sterling added additional drama to the incident in the way he fell, but not so much that referee Viktor Kassai should have been made uncertain.
Even the old 'watch it in real time' arguments do not apply. It looked a penalty in real time, a penalty in slow motion – it probably would have looked a penalty on fast forward, too. Kassai marched up purposefully – and booked Sterling for diving. Welcome to life as lived by the rest of Europe, Pep. If he had hair he would have been tearing it out.
Yet that is what Barcelona do. They make the most of every opportunity. A sniff, a half chance, a lucky break, a counter attack. Having got away with one, it took ten minutes for Barcelona to make Manchester City regret. One moment City thought they were in with a chance of scoring, the next Willy Caballero was retrieving the ball from his net.\
It happens in a flash. Sergio Aguero had a shot blocked, which fell to Lionel Messi. He sprayed a pass out to Neymar and Barcelona were away down the left. Reaching a deep wide position, Neymar looked up, spotted Messi continuing a run through the middle and found him with the perfectly weighted square ball. The whereabouts of City's defence remains unknown.
They had parted, scattered, disappeared. Messi ran on to the ball, ran into the space, side-footed it past Caballero. A lot of teams think they play on the counter-attack. Barcelona have taken it to fresh heights. At its best it is like watching a computer geek play a novice. Barcelona are at a different level.
For a period after that they looked as if they could score every time they advanced to City's half. And as the game was being played there, it was feared they might even repeat the 4-0 scoreline from two weeks ago. Neymar had an effort from the left that Cabellero kept out; Messi cut one back that Luis Suarez couldn't quite turn in with his head.
Yet this is a Barcelona team missing key men defensively. If City could just get a foothold in the game, they would have a chance: and in the 39th minute, they did. It came from a mistake by Sergi Roberto, a mirror of the error made by John Stones here against Southampton last month, passing blind across his own defensive line, finding only Aguero.
Gundogan celebrates after responding with a tap-in after a great pass from Raheem Sterling in the 39th minute
Ivan Rakitic (left) looks dejected as 26-year-old Germany international Gundogan makes his way back to his half
Sterling goes to ground in the box after a challenge by Barca's French defender Samuel Umtiti (centre) in the first period
For once, an official believed Barcelona guilty and Kevin De Bruyne lined it up. What a free-kick it was. Over the wall, out of the reach of Marc-Andre ter Stegen. City were ahead. Not a flicker from Guardiola, once again. After the first goal he called Fernandinho over for some tactical instruction, after this, nothing.
He didn't even leave his seat. Maybe, in those instances, less is more. By refusing to react Guardiola acknowledged City's supremacy. By remaining motionless, he demonstrated it was their game to lose.
A few minutes later, another De Bruyne free-kick, but this time as provider. Stones got his head to it, but steered the ball just wide.
Aguero came close from a Silva free-kick soon after. Andre Gomes hit the bar for Barcelona, but this was City's night now. Sixth time lucky, although luck had nothing to do with it. Truthfully, it could have been more.
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