City 'Willing' to Spend £100mn on Messi

Date: 17 January 2017 - 20:39

News ID: ۳۵۶۹۱

LONDON (Independent) - Manchester City have told Barcelona they are willing to break the world transfer record to sign Lionel Messi in a £100m deal, with negotiations said to have taken place at the end of 2016 to prove the Premier League club’s seriousness over a deal.
City’s links with Barcelona are well documented, with Pep Guardiola not the only former Barcelona staff member currently plying his trade at the Etihad Stadium. Both Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, City’s director of football and chief executive officer respectively, helped Guardiola morph Barcelona into the dominant force it became under the Spaniard’s tenure, while goalkeeper Claudio Bravo was a summer addition from the Catalan club with Yaya Toure also joining from the Nou Camp.
Now, The Sun claims that talks between the two clubs were held at the end of December in order for City to prove they are serious about signing Messi. The Argentina international has been linked with a possible move away from Barcelona as the two parties continue to stall on a new contract, though the club is determined to tie down his long-term future and not allow him to leave.
** Manchester City have made it clear to Barcelona that they're willing to spend £100m on Lionel Messi