Manchester City receive a massive boost in their pursuit of Lionel Messi

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - OCTOBER 08: Lionel Messi of Argentina looks on during a match between Argentina and Ecuador as part of South American Qualifiers for Qatar 2022 at Estadio Alberto J. Armando on October 08, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)
BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - OCTOBER 08: Lionel Messi of Argentina looks on during a match between Argentina and Ecuador as part of South American Qualifiers for Qatar 2022 at Estadio Alberto J. Armando on October 08, 2020 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. (Photo by Marcelo Endelli/Getty Images)

Lionel Messi has been linked with only two clubs since announcing his decision to leave Barcelona in the last summer window. The two clubs are Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester City are in pole position to secure the signature of the Argentine ace in this winter window. Should the 33-year-old agree to a pre-transfer agreement with the former Premier League champions, he will be leaving Barcelona at the end of this season after 16 long years. Messi’s agent, Jorge Messi has provided a solid piece of intel for the thinktank at the Etihad stadium. There have been numerous links tying Messi to PSG but Jorge has quashed them aside and claimed that the rumors are fake. As per Mirror, reports in Spain claimed that Jorge Messi met with PSG chiefs in the Qatari consulate in Barcelona to discuss the possibility of Messi moving to Paris, which were ultimately quashed down by Messi’s dad in his Instagram story.

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A few days ago, Neyman made a public statement revealing his desire to play with his friend and former teammate, Lionel Messi once again next season. The Brazilian acclaimed that they “must” play together next season. Messi, Suarez, and Neymar forged a prolific partnership wherein they formed one of the deadliest trios in European football. In fact, the last time Messi won a UEFA Champions League title was back in 2015, a year where Barcelona managed to win the treble.

So how has Jorge Messi given a boost to Manchester City?

The very fact that Messi’s agent has dismissed rumors linking his son to PSG translates to Manchester City being ahead of a possible transfer rival in PSG. As I mentioned, the Cityzens are in pole position to land the Barcelona stalwart.

To make matters better for their ambitions of landing Messi, it is believed that Barcelona aren’t able to afford the 33-year-old’s wages anymore and presidential candidate, Emili Rousaud disclosed his plan of keeping Messi on a contract with a pay-cut.

Barcelona are in a troublesome position and Manchester City have been presented with an opportunity to take advantage of the panicky situation at Camp Nou. The Sky Blues boss, Pep Guardiola insists that he’d rather watch Messi finish off his playing career at Barcelona but surely, he will not mind forging another partnership with him, or will he?

Pep Guardiola has been under pressure to deliver a UCL title at Manchester City, a trophy that he hasn’t won since 2011. He won the UCL in 2009 and 2011, both the seasons where Messi was at his very best. In other words, Guardiola launched the Argentine winger during his tenure at the Camp Nou and he wouldn’t mind being reunited with the 33-year-old as it will significantly improve the chances of the former Premier League champions to lift the UCL title.