At Manchester City they have been dreaming for years of a possible arrival of Leo Messi, especially since Pep Guardiola is their coach. The signing of the Catalan coach was a turning point in the club’s history due to the ability to attract the best, but they want to take another leap: Messi was never as close to leaving Barcelona as last summer … maybe until next June. If the Argentine decides to leave the Camp Nou, the ‘citizens’ open their arms to welcome him into the squad.
Since then, more than a few people at City have imagined an alignment with the Argentine star, which, however, would have many consequences in the planning of the season. In the first place, the renewal or not of Kun Agüero. The relationship between Messi and Kun, who ends his contract this summer after a decade as a Manchester City forward, is well known. This season, after an injury and a positive for coronavirus, he has only participated in five league games and in June he will turn 33. His continuity is not at all guaranteed, but an arrival of Messi could change all the club’s plans to better integrate Leo.
On the other hand, in the club they have several bastions that are the basis of present and future. The first one is obvious: Kevin De Bruyne, the best footballer in the Premier League in recent years, at an age of full maturity (in June he turns 30) and who has several seasons left at the highest level. In another step is the great bet of Manchester City, Phil Foden, who this campaign has earned his prominence with Guardiola on his own merits. The English midfielder is only 20 years old and his last exhibition at Anfield, last Sunday, delighted all the fans to the fullest … and his coach, who says he is the best talent he has trained. In addition, the City also has another of the offensive banners of English football. Raheem Sterling (26 years old) He has reached his best goalscoring records under Guardiola and has surpassed 20 goals every year since 2017.
In addition, this season there has been a scoring explosion for Gündogan and he has become the team’s top scorer, as well as an essential player at 30 years old and with two and a half seasons ahead of his contract. The rest of the options on the attack front are for Bernardo Silva, which has not yet recovered its 2019 level; for Riyad Mahrez, an unbalancing factor on the touchline; for Ferran Torres, a bet by City on a 20-year-old versatile attacker, who has responded with goals in all competitions when he had his chance; and to Gabriel Jesus, that despite having been almost always in the shadow of Agüero, has enjoyed prominence thanks to his great defensive work and versatility, even playing as a winger.
A hypothetical arrival of Messi would not only affect the numbers that Manchester City will have to do to balance accounts with respect to his salary, it would also directly influence your workforce planning.
