With Barcelona all but confirming the news that Lionel Messi has left the club, the hunt is on for the Argentinian to find a new employer, and Manchester City have, apparently, already made their position known.
The Premier League outfit have just splashed out an eye-watering British record £100m to sign Jack Grealish from Aston Villa, and it was believed that the Citizens were also interested in acquiring Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.
Whether the potential latter deal is now scuppered will become known in the next few days, with some social media accounts suggesting that City are the only club that have confirmed their offer.
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According to Le10Sport, cited by the City_Extra Twitter account, City have offered a three-year deal which would include a final season at New York City.
???? @le10sport Exclusive: “Lionel Messi has so far received one concrete and official offer, from the City Football Group. A three-year contract has been proposed, with the first two years at #ManCity and the final year at New York City.”
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) August 6, 2021
#ManCity will meet with Messi’s agent to talk wages.
[@marca] pic.twitter.com/SeZ5GyIVJY— ManchesterCityInsider (@ManCityInsider_) August 6, 2021
There’s also a belief that the club will soon open negotiations with Messi’s agents to formalise a contract.
As soon as the Messi family are seen to be negotiating elsewhere, that would make the decision somewhat final as, at present, things appear to be in a strange sort of limbo.