Manchester City eye blockbuster £100m move for Barcelona ace

Manchester City are confident Lionel Messi is ready to leave Barcelona and are readying a blockbuster £100m move to bring him to the Premier League, reports The Daily Mirror.

Barcelona have staggeringly allowed Messi to enter the final 18 months of his current deal although remain confident Messi will extend his stay at the Camp Nou.

Messi reportedly wants Pep Guardiola to return to the club in the summer to replace outgoing coach Luis Enrique but the Spaniard has ruled out ever going back to Barcelona and instead wants to reunite with Messi at the Etihad this summer.

City would reportedly be willing to hand Messi a basic salary of £500,000-a-week, which would shatter their wage structure. However, the arrival of Messi would instantly transform City into one of the best teams in Europe and boost their chances of dominating the Premier League and also the Champions League.

Despite Barcelona’s disastrous campaign, Messi has been in sensational form. In fact, he has scored 26 goals in 23 starts across all competitions this season while only Neymar (8.32) has a higher WhoScored rating in Europe’s top five leagues (Messi - 8.25).

For more stats on Lionel Messi, click here to visit his WhoScored player page