Ahead of Manchester City’s visit to Camp Nou next week, reports in Spain on Friday morning suggested that the club were prepared to make an offer for - of all players - Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Spanish paper El Confidencial reported that Manchester City were prepared to offer the €200m (~$275m) required to meet the buyout clause contained in Messi’s contract. Yes, you read that right - $275m. The paper went on to suggest that Messi might not be happy at Barcelona, and, in turn, his teammates might not be happy with him. In that case, why not allow a wealthy club to pay an outrageous price for the Argentine?
In case any Barcelona fans are starting to hyperventilate, you can go ahead and put down the paper bag. Manchester City boss Manuel Pellegrini squashed the reports in his press conference, downgrading the speculation to mere rumors. And probably wondered why he was spending time talking about Messi rather than his club’s upcoming FA Cup match with Wigan.
Considering Manchester City’s 2-0 defeat to Barcelona at the Etihad Stadium - complete with Martín Demichelis getting sent off for a foul on Messi, followed by a penalty conversion from Messi himself - it might seem like sweet revenge for the English club to woo away the superstar. However, it’s not as though the Citizens can secure his signature in time for them to complete a turn-around midweek.
But with the situation at Barcelona being what it is, the idea of Messi leaving no longer seems as incomprehensible as it once did. Can you see City buying the superstar?