The 33-year-old – who still has a year of contract left at Camp Nou – has expressed his preference to leave Catalonia after the club’s humiliation through Bayern Munich.
And the Citizens would be in pole position to point to the Argentine international, he would meet Pep Guardiola.
Speculation about his long career intensified over the weekend after Messi rejected coronavirus tests in Barcelona.
He even said Messi had spoken to Guardiola where he had told him he thought he could win two Ballon d’Or titles at Etihad.
And now the Italian journalist Tancredi Palmeri has assured that the City is willing to pay Messi 450 million pounds for years.
He even advised that the club pay him a bonus of 225 million pounds after three years in England, where he would later enroll in the sister club of New York.
Palmeri did not say how much the City would pay to Barca to secure its services.
He tweeted: “Boom. Manchester City would pay Messi five billion euros (446 million pounds) for five years!
“The salary would be 50 million euros (44. 6 million pounds) according to the season, after 3 years in the City, there would be a bonus of 250 million euros (223 million pounds) over the last two years in New York. “
Palmeri also told his 203,000 fans that Messi’s father, Jorge, would meet with Barca’s technician, Josep Maria Bartomeu, this week to discuss his future.
He said: “The president of Barcelona, Bartomeu, and Messi’s father will meet on Wednesday. “
Messi had hoped to leave the club for a loose move this summer due to a clause in his contract, but LaLiga rejected his request, keeping his 630 million pound clause intact.
The Spanish media reported that City was preparing an 89. 5 million pound contribution for Messi, while also providing Bernardo Silva, Gabriel Jesús and Eric García del Barca.
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