Manchester City plotting sensational €400 million January move for Lionel Messi

Manchester City are reportedly plotting a sensational €400 million move to sign Lionel Messi from Barcelona in January

According to a report in Spanish publication AS, Manchester City are ready to shatter the world transfer record for Lionel Messi as uncertainty continues to increase around his contract situation. The Citizens are prepared to shell out a staggering €400 million to land the Barcelona superstar in January.

Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players, not just at the present moment, but in the history of the game, having enjoyed one of the most remarkable careers of all time with Barcelona. A pivotal figure at Camp Nou for the better part of the last decade, the player has gone on to win 30 trophies with the Catalan club.

Additionally, with over 500 career goals for Barcelona, Messi is the club’s all-time top scorer as well as the leading goalscorer in La Liga history (360 goals). Despite enjoying such widespread success on a personal as well as professional level, his future at Camp Nou is getting increasingly uncertain.

While Barcelona recently announced that the 30-year-old is set to sign a new contract that will expire in 2021, the deal is yet to be made official, making the Barcelona fans and officials increasingly uneasy about the player’s situation.

Manchester City have had “serious conversations” about signing Barcelona’s Lionel Messi for 400m euros (£358m) in January. (Source: MARCA) pic.twitter.com/quvcUbDaph

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) October 9, 2017

One club though, is ready to pounce on the uncertainty surrounding Messi – Manchester City. Pep Guardiola is a huge admirer of the player’s talents, and has previously managed him during one of Barcelona’s most successful periods, with Messi being the focal point of the side.

The Manchester City boss has also admitted that he would like to manage Messi once again, if given the opportunity, although he has also opined that the Argentinean wizard would likely hang up his boots at Barcelona.

However, if Messi continues to stall on signing a new deal, he could depart from Camp Nou next summer as a free agent. Manchester City though, are eager to snap him up as early as the winter transfer, and are preparing a €400 million bid to sign him in January.

As per the report, the Citizens have had serious conversations with the player’s inner circle about signing him. Even though Guardiola already has an embarrassment of riches in attack, Messi’s arrival will undoubtedly boost his options immensely.

But, the report claims that Messi is happy with life in Barcelona, perhaps suggesting that he is likely to put pen to paper on a new deal at Camp Nou as well. It now remains to be seen if Guardiola is able to enjoy a reunion with Messi, or if Barcelona succeed to keep him onboard by signing a renewal.