Guardiola is yet to add to the two UEFA Champions League title he won at Barcelona after failing with Munich and now Manchester City.
Magath claims Guardiola's style of football needs a player like Messi to stand a chance of winning Europe's premier club competition.
"Messi won the titles, not Guardiola," the ex-Bayern manager told Sport Bild.
"Without Messi, this system has never worked as successfully for Guardiola, otherwise he would have won the Champions League with Bayern or Manchester City long ago.
"Tiki-taka only works if you have players who are technically superior to their opponents. For the spectator, holding the ball, as I call it, is just boring and a top team doesn't really need it.
"In my opinion, Guardiola generally too often gets lost in trying to win a game in advance. That tactic often ends in wrong decisions, which prevent success."
