Manchester City after Lionel Messi

The Sun are claiming that Lionel Messi would consider making a sensational switch from Barcelona to Manchester City, in a move that would see the Argentinian magician earn a staggering £800,000 a week.

With the new Premier League TV deal set to come in next year – which will boost the coffers of whoever wins the title by £150m – City will have the financial firepower and Financial Fair Play allowance from Uefa to launch the move. Apart from Messi and Guardiola, the English club would also be looking to sign Juventus midfielder Paul Pogba and Barcelona right-back Dani Alves.

Forget his 58 goals in 57 games last season though, and forget all the records he’s broken and the trophies he’s won at Barcelona.

But Pellegrini, who won the Premier League and the Capital One Cup in his first season in England, accepts such talk is a fact of life at major clubs and insists it does not bother him.

The absence of Messi due to an ankle injury for over six-weeks has allowed Neymar and Suarez exhibit their talents at the club and Messi fears he may be surplus to requirements. In Spain, buyout clauses are mandatory, per ESPN FC’s Graham Hunter.

And the little magician’s Argentina team-mate said the talk around the Barcelona ace as “speculation and rumours”.

City have slipped to third after their 4-1 hammering by Liverpool but with top two Leicester and Manchester United playing each other, they have a chance to make up ground this weekend.

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague, however, had no qualms about giving his take on the matter.

If Messi does officially hit the market, it could be an all out bidding war. Despite the ongoing tax investigation, the star forward still seems to be perfectly happy at the only club he’s ever played for as a professional.