It was only earlier this month that the world was shocked after PSG managed to land Barcelona's Neymar for a world-record fee £198 million. That could be a thing of the past with Premier League giants Manchester City ready to break the bank for, arguably, the best player in the world, Lionel Messi.
City, one of the richest clubs in world football, are keen to meet his release clause of £275 million and sign the player to make the dream transfer happen, reports Yahoo Sports France.
This would also mean City manager Pep Guardiola getting to work alongside Messi once again after their days in Barcelona. It remains to be seen if this close relationship between the two could help City get the deal done. Such kind of deals are always going to grab headlines especially when it comes to Messi, who is yet to sign a new contract with his present club.
Ever since the news broke over the internet, Manchester City fans must be excited with the chance of witnessing Messi play for City, but it is not going to be easy.
After having let go Neymar, it would be disastrous for Barcelona to see their best player leave and play for some other club. Barcelona will do all they can to keep Messi, who is a product from their academy. So, there is no doubt, Messi has some strong emotional connection with the club.
It needs to be mentioned that Barcelona were not determined to sell Neymar, but with players having shown interest in joining PSG, who met his release clause, the Spanish club had no option but to sell. If the same situation arises with Messi and Manchester City, how will Barcelona club officials react?
If the deal is to officially take shape, there is a serious need for Manchester City to act swiftly. The transfer window will shut down in less than two weeks, before which the deal needs to be finalised.
An interesting two weeks lie ahead for football fans.
