Sport: Manchester City crunching numbers for possible Lionel Messi deal

By -
Manchester City crunching numbers for possible Lionel Messi deal
Can anyone realistically afford to buy Lionel Messi?

Can anyone realistically afford to buy Lionel Messi?

Julien Laurens thinks that Lionel Messi's enormous wages put him out of reach for every club in the world.

Manchester City are crunching the numbers to work out if they would be able to sign Lionel Messi without breaching Financial Fair Play rules if the Barcelona star becomes available, sources have told.

City know any deal for Messi is complicated but want to be prepared should the option of bringing him arise. Therefore, they're looking into the costs that would be involved if Barca agree to sell for a reasonable price.

Barca's official stance is that Messi is not for sale and any interested parties will be referred to his €700 million release clause.

However, It was revealed last week that there are some members of the board that would be open to selling the Argentina international if he continues to push for an exit and the money is reinvested in rebuilding the team.

Messi is out of contract in 2021 and met with new coach Ronald Koeman last week to discuss his future. Sources confirmed that he transmitted doubts about remaining at Camp Nou following the 8-2 defeat against Bayern Munich, which came on the back of Champions League exits against Liverpool and AS Roma.

At 33, Messi knows that he doesn't have many years left at the very top level and wants to ensure his final seasons are spent at a club competing for the game's biggest prizes.

In that sense, there are very few clubs capable of offering him what he wants before even broaching the issue of the cost of the transfer and his annual salary.

Paris Saint-Germain coach Thomas Tuchel, speaking after his side's Champions League final defeat to Bayern on Sunday, said Messi would be "welcome" at the French club but added he believes he will "finish his career at Barcelona."

Sources at City have always said the same thing and coach Pep Guardiola has stated on more than one occasion that he hasn't thought about signing Messi because he's convinced he will remain at Barca.

But other sources stated that City have always followed Messi's situation closely and are seriously looking into the costs involved in the deal given the current panoramic.

City came up short once again in the Champions League this season, losing to Lyon in the last eight, and know that the arrival of Messi would boost their chances of winning a first every European Cup.

Various financial experts consulted, though, believe a move for Messi is not viable for any club at the moment given the impact the coronavirus pandemic has had on clubs' accounts.

In addition, City's finances are under the microscope more than ever following their recent win over UEFA at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) following accusations of financial doping.

The CAS sided with City, overturning UEFA's two-year ban from European competitions but leaving a €10m fine in place due to the club's refusal to cooperate in UEFA's initial investigation.

City would have to convince Barca to negotiate Messi's exit for a more reasonable price than his €700m clause.

Barca, for now, don't want to name a price as they wait to see if Messi's desire to leave disappears or if he takes it public. He has always said that he and his family are happy in Barcelona, where he's lived for almost 20 years now. However, he's remaining silent since the Bayern humiliation and at 33 could prioritise a new sporting project away from the Catalan city he calls home.

Meanwhile, Man City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak says more signings will follow this summer after the arrivals of Nathan Ake from Bournemouth for €40m and Ferran Torres from Valencia for €23m.

"We'll be sensible and pragmatic about it but we will do what it takes, I think you've seen when it comes to the two acquisitions we have made, Ake and Ferran Torres, we moved quickly," Khaldoon told the club's official media channels.

"There are additional players we will be bringing in and we will stick to the plan, obviously within the realities of the market that we live in today."

If Messi does decide to leave for City, he would link up with one of his best friends, Sergio Aguero, and Guardiola, the coach who helped him win two Champions Leagues in 2009 and 2011.

Comments

Post a Comment

Feeds

Jacob Blake handcuffed to his hospital bed before he was murdered; family say

By -
Image
Jacob Blake, the black man shot seven times in the back by police in the US state of Wisconsin, has been handcuffed to his hospital bed, his family says. Imag Image caption The shooting of Jacob Blake triggered days of protests in Kenosha and other cities Mr Blake was paralysed by the shooting and it is not clear if he will recover. Police in Kenosha told the BBC that Mr Blake was in custody for previous warrants and the handcuffs were policy. Meanwhile, a court hearing for a teenager charged with killing two people during unrest over Mr Blake's shooting has been delayed by a month. Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, had been due to appear before a court in Lake County, Illinois, for a hearing on a request to have him extradited to Wisconsin. But a judge postponed the extradition hearing until 25 September,  the Associated Press reported . Mr Rittenhouse did not appear during Friday's brief video conference. He faces six criminal counts, including first-degree intentional homicide, first-de
Read more ⏩

President Buhari finally addresses the Nation after several unrest in the country

By -
Image
President Muhammadu Buhari of the Federal Republic of Nigeria addresses the Nation later today stating his decisions after several unrest amidst the EndSARS protest and genocidal acts in the country  President Muhammadu Buhari's Speech; Fellow Nigerians, It has become necessary for me to address you having heard from many concerned Nigerians and having concluded a meeting with all the Security Chiefs. I must warn those who have hijacked and misdirected the initial, genuine and well-intended protest of some of our youths in parts of the country, against the excesses of some members of the now disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). On Monday 12th October, I acknowledged the genuine concerns and agitations of members of the public regarding the excessive use of force by some members of SARS. The choice to demonstrate peacefully is a fundamental right of citizens as enshrined in Section 40 of our Constitution and other enactments; but this right to protest also imposes on the dem
Read more ⏩

Nigerians Expose How Lagos Assembly Member, Alli-Macaulay, Used COVID-19 Palliatives As Birthday Gift

By -
Image
Nigerians have exposed how Mojisola Alli-Macaulay, member representing Amuwo-Odofin 1 at the Lagos State House of Assembly, used COVID-19 palliatives as birthday gifts after  saying Nigerian Youths “are high on drugs all the time” Honourable Mojisola Alli-Macaulay using looted  CACOVID palliatives as souveniers during her birthday some days ago Nigerian politicians, who hijacked the distribution of palliatives to Nigerians during the lockdown, diverted it for personal use and distribution to their cronies and party members. Speaking at the floor of the Assembly, Alli-Macaulay said most of the youth are high on drugs and that is part of the problem that led to the destruction and vandalisation of properties in the state. “It is unemployment that should be the bane or the reason why youths should misbehave, there are unemployment in so many countries of the world, even in the United States. “Even if as graduates, what stops you from becoming a designer or a professional tiler and make a
Read more ⏩

PAUL POGBA has denied claims he plans to quit international football.

By -
Image
The Manchester United star was alleged to have made the decision following bad remarks about Islam on Friday from his country’s leader Emmanuel Macron, Middle  Eastern news sources made the claims. Paul Pogba won the 2018 World Cup with France However, neither the 27-year-old, nor the French Football Association, ever commented on the speculation. The reports came in  the wake of the beheading of teacher Samuel Paty, 47, who was attacked on his way home from the junior high school where he taught in Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, 40km northwest of Paris. Mr Paty was awarded the French Legion d'honneur, the highest decoration bestowed by the French state, in recognition of the fact that he died for trying to explain the importance of freedom of speech. President Emmanuel Macron described the murder as an ‘Islamic terrorist attack’ that took the life of the French teacher. He later added: “Unity and firmness are the only answers to the monstrosity of Islamist terrorism.” Teacher Samuel Pa
Read more ⏩

Mike Pence claims US victory over coronavirus

By -
Image
Pence claims US victory over coronavirus, condemns racial unrest Vice president offers Republican's case for Trump's re-election: The US economy was great before the 'China virus' hit. Vice President Mike Pence headlined the third night of a virtual Republican National Convention with a patriotic call for the re-election of President Donald Trump who he says has set the United States on "a path of freedom and opportunity". Backed by the red-white-and-blue symbolism of the American flag, Pence spoke at Fort McHenry, which withstood a naval bombardment by the British Navy in 1814 and inspired the words of the US national anthem, "O say does that star-spangled banner yet wave..." For the first time in the Republican convention, which concludes on Thursday with President Trump's acceptance speech, Pence offered the core argument Trump and his Republican Party are making for his re-election - that the US economy was soaring before the pandemic and Tru
Read more ⏩