Concern for Barcelona as rivals plot possible ambitious swoop for influential figure

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Concern levels at Barcelona could be growing as it’s reported that Man City are taking steps to determine if they can realistically launch a bid to sign Lionel Messi this summer.

The Catalan giants were left bitterly disappointed last season as they lost their La Liga title crown to rivals Real Madrid and were thumped by Bayern Munich in the Champions League earlier this month.

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That led to the decision to part company with Quique Setien, with Ronald Koeman being appointed his successor last week as the Dutchman now looks to oversee an important change at the Camp Nou and get the club back on the right path to success.

However, as noted by ESPN, question marks have been raised over Messi’s future with Barcelona in recent weeks, and that has seemingly alerted Man City who are now said to be assessing the dynamics of any potential offer that they could make to determine whether or not it’s a realistic option with Financial Fair Play rules in mind.

Given the transfer fee and salary involved, it will surely take a monumental effort from Man City to make the numbers work, and so it remains to be seen if Barcelona are given increased cause for concern in the coming weeks. That said, the mere fact that City are perhaps starting to take it seriously could be a concern in itself.

Messi enjoyed another stellar campaign on an individual basis last year, with the 33-year-old scoring 31 goals and providing 26 assists in 44 appearances.

Despite that though, for the third consecutive season, Barcelona’s hopes in Europe came to a crushing end while they were unable to keep hold of their domestic crown either.

In turn, that has seemingly led to suggestions that Messi could be open to an exit, as per the ESPN report above, but time will tell if Man City or any other European giant can afford to prise the Argentine away ahead of the new season.

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1 Comment

  1. If Manch. City decide to sign Messi, they wouldn’t need to pay 700 mil. release clause. Messi will terminate his contract and became a free agent. But Pep’s side has to pay his 220,000 euro weekly salary. That may be the biggest concern.

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