Groundbreaking interview sees Messi reveal his plans for the future at Manchester City
Lionel Messi has been heavily linked to Manchester City in the recent past.
In a recently concluded interview by La Sexta TV, Lionel Messi opened up a lot about his current mindset and his plans for the future. The Argentine Ace was tipped to leave Barcelona at the end of the last season but a potential face-off with Barcelona in the court was in the reckoning and that led to the 32-year-old to drop his desire to leave the club that he’s spent 16 years of his professional footballing career. Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were always going to be the only two teams in European football that could afford the Blaugrana skipper’s astronomical wages.
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Fabrizio Romano has revealed the details of the interview for those who haven’t found the time to watch it in full. Speaking to La Sexta TV, Messi said:
"“I’m not negotiating as a free agent with any club. As I said, I have nothing clear until the end of the season. Let’s see how we do this season and what happens. Neymar? Bringing Neymar back to Barça would be so expensive…”.Source: Fabrizio Romano on twitter"
One thing becomes very clear for Manchester City now. Lionel Messi’s stay at Barcelona for the next season is heavily dependent on their performance this season. While the Argentine’s relationship with the Manchester City boss has been a very fruitful one for both of them, the option of exploring a future at Manchester City next season is still very much on the table.
This allows the Cityzens to jump into the winter market to beef up their underperforming attack. Gabriel Jesus has not joined the party yet but the defense has been rock-solid this season. Meanwhile, Sergio Aguero is yet to sign a contract extension and doubts are lingering at the Etihad Stadium over the player’s future in a Sky Blue shirt. Kevin de Bruyne is close to signing an extension at the Etihad stadium and sources say that he might even consider finish off his playing career at Manchester.
Next. Real Madrid hoping to land Manchester City talent in the coming weeks. dark
The Argentine also revealed that he did exchange messages with Pep Guardiola wherein they spoke about Barcelona and Manchester City.
Lionel Messi is not after money as he is currently the highest-paid footballer. He is in search of a winning project and his best bet is at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain, i.e if he wants to lift the UCL trophy once again in his illustrious career.
The Cityzens should not give up though. Signing Messi for free is a bonus for any team and Pep has found a lot of success in the past working alongside him. With Messi’s recent comments about his “dream” to play in the MLS, another option for the Sky Blues is to lure him by offering a long-term contract worth three years, at the end of which he could move to the MLS.
With the transfer window approaching, who do you think Manchester City should sign, now that Lionel Messi has shot down any possibility of him signing a contract with another club as a free agent this January?