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Manchester City will press on with their attempt to sign Lionel Messi in the summer by launching a world record bid in excess of £100m to try and sign the Barcelona forward, with wages of around £500,000-a-week reported to be on offer if he agrees a switch to the Premier League.
With Messi currently in contract limbo at Barcelona after reportedly rejecting their latest offer, City are growing in confidence at signing the 29-year-old, especially with their trio of Pep Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano all working with the Argentine at the Nou Camp in the past.
Messi missed Saturday’s 0-0 draw with Malaga through illness, and The Mirror
The report claims that City are willing to offer a fee of over £100m to Barcelona to part with the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, and when his wages and additional bonuses are taking into account, City will have to fork out over £200m to complete the deal.
Messi has a £215m buy-out clause in his contract that expires in 2018, but with the club and player currently at a stalemate in negotiations, the Catalan side fear he could reach the summer with just 12 months remaining on his deal. That would lead to the club facing a huge dilemma in that they would have to sell Messi or risk losing a potential £100m-plus player for nothing, or bow to his demands and give him the contract that he desires.
City are one of few clubs who are able to cater to Messi’s demands and, along with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, would be able to tempt Barcelona into selling the Argentina international if he reaches next summer with no new deal in sight.
Show all 20 1 /20Transfer window: Good and bad signings Transfer window: Good and bad signings Granit Xhaka – Borussia Monchengldbach to Arsenal Good signing: Arsenal have needed presence and power in midfield for years and now they have it again through Granit Xhaka. The Swiss international is an imposing athlete and an astute passer, the perfect partner for Santi Cazorla or Aaron Ramsey.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Steven Defour – Anderlecht to Burnley Good signing: If Burnley lacked experience and class last time they were in the top flight, Sean Dyche is determined to avoid the same this time. That is why they spent big on Belgium international Steven Defour, providing that extra edge in a workmanlike team.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Ashley Williams – Swansea to Everton Good signing: Everton did not pay enough attention to defensive principles under Roberto Martinez and that eventually cost him his job. That is why they were so keen to buy Ashley Williams, a man who understands that his first and only job is to keep the ball out of his net.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings N’Golo Kante – Leicester City to Chelsea Good signing: hat Antonio Conte values more than anything else is hard work and running, and that is why Chelsea spent big on N’Golo Kante from Leicester City. He protects the back four, breaks up attacks and sets Chelsea’s own tempo. All they need now is more players like him.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Ahmed Musa – CSKA Moscow to Leicester City Good signing: Improving a miracle-working team is difficult, but Ahmed Musa looks like a good start. His pace in behind and instincts in the box give Leicester City an extra edge, and he looks set to form a dangerously fast strike partnership with Jamie Vardy.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Sadio Mane – Southampton to Liverpool Good signing: There are not many players in the Premier League like Sadio Mane, combining that speed with technical execution. He showed that in his brilliant debut goal for Liverpool at the Emirates and he has already given Jurgen Klopp’s side a new dimension.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings John Stones – Everton to Manchester City Good signing: The most important of Pep Guardiola’s signings at Manchester City is not Ilkay Gundogan or even Claudio Bravo but John Stones. Guardiola teams play out from the back and few are better at that in England than Stones, who is already flourishing with Guardiola’s coaching and trust. Could be City captain for the next 10 years.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Eric Bailly – Villarreal to Manchester United Good signing: Signing centre-backs from abroad is difficult but in Eric Bailly, Manchester United appear to have found one who instantly understands what is demanded of him. A brilliant tackler and reader of the game, Bailly already looks like a player who will flourish in the pace of the Premier League.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Joe Allen – Liverpool to Stoke City Good signing: Stoke City signed talented forwards last year but they were lacking in midfield. After signing Gianelli Imbula they continued their upgrade with Joe Allen, Liverpool’s brilliant little Welsh midfielder. Allen excelled at Euro 2016 where he showed his intelligence and technical skill, and is now improving the supply line to Xherdan Shaqiri and co.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Fernando Llorente – Sevilla to Swansea Good signing: Swansea have bought cleverly in recent years but have struggled up front. In Fernando Llorente they have an experienced powerful number nine, who has played for Athletic Bilbao and Juventus, and will finally give them the type of player they have needed for years.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings David Luiz – PSG to Chelsea Questionable signing: All it took was one game for new Paris Saint Germain manager Unai Emery to decide that David Luiz was not for him. Luiz gave away a stupid penalty against Monaco so Emery authorised his sale back to Chelsea for £32m, two years after Jose Mourinho made a similar judgement. That Antonio Conte feels differently is a surprise.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Papy Djilobodji – Chelsea to Sunderland Questionable signing: Famously offered unsuccessfully around the Championship before signing for Chelsea in 2015, Jose Mourinho only gave Djilobodji a few minutes in a League Cup game against Walsall. He was quickly loaned out to Germany but David Moyes saw enough in him there to spend £8m taking him to Sunderland this summer.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Brad Smith – Liverpool to Bournemouth Questionable signing: Left-back has not exactly been a position of strength for Liverpool in recent years and yet Brad Smith struggled to make any impact at Anfield under Jurgen Klopp. But Bournemouth, having spent £15m on Jordon Ibe, decided to take another Liverpool youngster and paid £6m on Smith too.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Lucas Perez – Deportivo La Coruna to Arsenal Questionable signing: Arsenal watched Lucas Perez extensively last season and decided earlier in the summer that he was not up to their level. It was little surprise, he had only scored 10 league goals once in his career, and has no Champions League or international experience. But when Arsenal needed a striker and saw Everton were about to sign him, they jumped in and paid the £17m fee anyway.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Gokhan Tore – Besiktas to West Ham Questionable signing: It is not an easy transition to make from Turkish Super Lig to the Premier League, and so far Gokhan Tore has been slow to adjust to English football. Signed by West Ham United from Slaven Bilic’s former club Besiktas, the Turkish winger is not quite yet up to the pace of the game.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Yannick Bolasie – Crystal Palace to Everton Questionable signing: Bolasie is a talented player but did not always produce consistently for Crystal Palace, who were very happy to sell him and replace him with Andros Townsend and a healthy profit. Now Everton have committed £25m and a five-year contract to a player who is far from guaranteed to deliver every week.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Moussa Sissoko – Newcastle to Tottenham Questionable signing: Tottenham are never willing spenders in the transfer window but they equalled their record £30m fee late on deadline night, buying Newcastle’s Moussa Sissoko. Mauricio Pochettino wanted more speed in a team which can be a bit one-paced. But Sissoko’s performances at Newcastle were very patchy and he will need to show far more consistency to justify his fee.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Leroy Fer – QPR to Swansea Questionable signing: Leroy Fer can be very dangerous in attacking positions but there is always the question of whether he does enough defensively to make up for it. At Queens Park Rangers the answer was no, as they fell apart as a unit and went down. But Swansea City are still prepared to take that risk.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Younes Kaboul – Sunderland to Watford Questionable signing: Kaboul was Tottenham captain when Mauricio Pochettino arrived in 2014 but within weeks he was out on the fringes of the side. He has struggled for form and fitness ever since and yet Watford have decided to bring him into their three-man back line for the start of this season.
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Transfer window: Good and bad signings Jonathan Kodjia – Bristol City to Aston Villa Questionable signing: This has been the summer of Championship fees exploding, and the strangest is Aston Villa paying Bristol City up to £15m for Jonathan Kodija. The relegated teams are so desperate to come straight back up that they are paying excessive fees for players who might get them there.
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United have already shown their intent in flexing their financial fire-power to sign world-record signing Paul Pogba this year for £89m, although reports suggest that the club would not rivals City to sign Messi if it were to cost as much as £200m.
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