Manchester City has not forgotten Lionel Messi but the English team wants to work in silence and will wait until March or April to test the real possibilities of getting his signing, different sources have revealed to ESPN.
2 Related
Messi, 33, ends his contract with Barcelona on June 30 and can negotiate with other clubs since last January 1.
City were the closest to getting his signing last summer but have decided to stay in the shadows since then and stay away from rumors about his possible signing.
For its part, Paris Saint-Germain has opted for the opposite tactic and has made it clear that it will try to hire him if the Argentine decides not to renew his contract.
The sports director of the Parisian team, Leonardo, even said that they are “sitting at the table of all the teams that follow” the situation of Messi, while Pochettino and several players such as Ángel Di María or Neymar have also publicly stated that they would receive Messi with open arms.
Different sources have confirmed to ESPN that City is also attentive to the situation, but has decided to use a less aggressive tactic than that of the Parisians.
City strengthened their chances of signing Messi with the renewal of Guardiola. Getty Images
The English have advanced much of the negotiation work of last summer when Pep Guardiola himself came to speak by phone with Messi to discuss the project and several sources confirm to ESPN that different people from City have maintained a regular relationship with the Argentine environment since then.
The English team already used a similar strategy last summer. Then, after several months working in the shadows and with hardly any leaks, they launched their signing in August, once they were clear that Messi wanted to leave Barcelona and that they could face the operation without breaking the rules of financial fair play.
City finally had to renounce their signing after then-Barcelona president Josep María Bartomeu made it clear that Messi would only leave the club if any team paid the 700 million euros for his release clause. Messi understood that he could leave for free due to a clause in his contract but decided to back out to prevent the case from ending up in court.
The situation is different now since the Argentine is free to negotiate with any club since January 1. However, sources close to the footballer say that Messi has not yet made a decision about his future and that he does not expect to do so until the end of the season.
In fact, it was already reported weeks ago that the player’s intention is to wait for the March 7 elections to talk with the new president of Barcelona and listen to the club’s plans.
2 Related
The City does not consider making any movement until then despite the fact that PSG has chosen to express their interest in public to try to take the lead by their signing.
In this sense, after Ronald Koeman publicly complained about the strategy chosen by PSG, Barcelona sources also admitted that they consider that the Parisians’ tactic is not the best to try to convince a Messi who is still focused on trying to win something. title this season.
“PSG is totally wrong with Messi using that strategy; Leo does not like the media noise and less for that type of comments, “acknowledged a source from the club to ESPN last week.