Manchester City are ready to offer Lionel Messi a staggering £ 450m ($ 835m) over five years if he leaves Barcelona.
The 33-year-old, who still has a year under contract at the Nou camp, expressed a desire to leave Catalonia after the club was humiliated by Bayern Munich.
And citizens are believed to be in pole position to sign the Argentina international where he will be reunited with Pep Guardiola.
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Speculation about his future increased over the weekend after Messi called off coronavirus testing in Barcelona.
There has even been talk of Messi speaking to Guardiola where he told him he believed he could win two Ballon d’Or titles at Etihad.
And now, Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri has claimed the city is ready to pay Messi £ 450 million over five years.
He even suggested that after three years in England the club would pay him a bonus of £ 225 million ($ 408 million), where he would then join sister club New York City.
Palmeri did not reveal how much City would pay Barca to secure his services.
He tweeted, “Boom. Manchester City would pay Messi € 500m ($ 808m) net for 5 years!
“The salary would be $ 50 million per season, but after three years in the city there would be a $ 250 million bonus moving the last two years to New York City!”
Palmeri also told his 203,000 supporters that Messi’s dad Jorge will meet with Barca boss Josep Maria Bartomeu this week to discuss his future.
He said: “Barcelona President Bartomeu and Messi’s father will meet on Wednesday.”
Messi had hoped to leave the club with a free transfer this summer due to a clause in his contract, but LaLiga have dismissed their lawsuit and maintained their £ 630m ($ 1.14bn) release clause.
Spanish media have stated that City are bidding £ 89.5m (USD 162m) on Messi while also offering Barca Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesus and Eric Garcia.
This article first appeared on The sun and has been reproduced with permission.
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