Man City end pursuit of Messi – journalist

Premier League giants Manchester City will no longer attempt to sign six-time Ballon d’Or winner, Lionel Messi, according to Semra Hunter, a Spanish journalist.

Messi is expected to leave Barca at the end of the season and PSG and Man City have been mooted as the most likely destinations.

The 33-year-old striker, who has scored a remarkable 640 goals in 742 matches for the Catalans, sensationally expressed his desire to leave Camp Nou during the summer – a move which was rejected by the board. Barca chiefs insisted any suitor would have to pay his £630m release clause, a move which has seen Messi reluctantly decide to see out the final year of his contract. Once released from his contract, a new club would not need to pay a transfer fee to Barca to bring Messi on board.
 
However, Hunter, speaking to Sky Sports, said Messi’s €100 million-a-year (£89 million) wages were a deal-breaker for City.  “I have it on good authority from someone close to the situation that Manchester City are not going to bid for Lionel Messi,” Hunter said. “Based on the information I have, as of today, that door is closed.
“They have their reasons for this,” he said. “They have two reasons for this: age and finances. Talking about age, he is heading into the twilight years of his career and you’ll be bringing on board a Messi that is different to what we’ve seen for the last 17 years with Barcelona. 
“Even he himself has said that he is getting closer to the dreaded r-word of retirement more so than anyone cares to admit.  
“That goes hand-in-hand with finances because even though he would be able to join for free, his wages are astronomically high – he is earning about 100 million Euros a year. 
“That would be a huge financial burden for any club to take on, especially given the fact that we are in the middle of a global pandemic,” Hunter said.