Manchester City and Lionel Messi: A summer move on the cards

Lionel Messi has been linked with a move away from Barcelona for the past 5-6 months and Manchester City are considered to be the frontrunners in the race to sign him.

It is believed that Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola were in constant contact previous summer, leading up to the day when the Argentine announced his decision to leave the club. Having said that, it has been assumed since then that Messi and Guardiola want to renew their partnership as both of them are desperate for a Champions League title. As per Sky Sports, Manchester City are in pole position to land the superstar from Rosario and that is largely because of the rapport and the relationship that he shares with Pep Guardiola and not to forget, their mutual desire to taste victory.

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Lionel Messi communicated his decision to Barcelona days after the dramatic 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munich via a Burofax. Manchester City were expected to land the Barcelona stalwart but UEFA Financial Fairplay regulations meant that Manchester City had to wait until the end of the following season to land their target on a free transfer. Lionel Messi is officially allowed to negotiate with other clubs this winter window and then join the club that lures him, at the end of the season for free.

Landing Lionel Messi for free will be a historical moment for the Sky Blues and European football. Having said that, Paris Saint-Germain are also linked to the Argentine and the 33-year-old might be faced with a tough decision to make. His former teammate and close friend in Neymar Jr. is at PSG and the prospect of him forging another superb partnership with the Brazilian might be tempting enough for the Barcelona legend to consider a switch to Paris. Not to mention, if Messi does join PSG, teams would be facing an attack consisting of Messi, Neymar, and Kylian Mbappe.

January 24 is a key date for Barcelona as their new president will be announced then. It is highly unlikely that the 33-year-old will make a decision on his future before hearing out the new President and his plans for the future. Having said that, it can be mentioned that the clubs in pursuit of Lionel Messi have got about 16 days to make their case. The Cityzens are in a strong position to land him as the 33-year-old revealed his ambitions of playing in the United States and the former Premier League champions can offer a 5-year contract to the Argentine wherein he will be spending the first two years of his contract at the Etihad Stadium and the remaining three in the sister club of Manchester City based out of New York.

With the winter window already in its second week, do you think Manchester City will be able to make their case for a Lionel Messi move at the end of this season?