Manchester City emerge favourites to land Messi as Barcelona exit beckons

Manchester City emerge favourites to land Messi as Barcelona exit beckons

The big question in the world of sport this Wednesday is about Lionel Messi and about where he’ll play his football if he does leave Barcelona and though many clubs have been linked with him, Manchester City appear the best placed to sign the want-away forward.

Contact between the Messi and the English club has already reportedly taken place and there are certainly some strong draws for the player, such as the chance to reunite with Pep Guardiola, the coach who he enjoyed his greatest successes with, and the opportunity to play with lifelong friend Sergio Aguero.

Many other clubs have been linked too, though, such as PSG, Inter, Manchester United and Newell’s Old Boys, his boyhood club in Argentina.

PSG would be attractive to Messi too for a few reasons, like the chance to play with Neymar and Angel Di Maria, but it would be a difficult operation for the French club since they already have a huge wage bill.

With Inter, it’s also less likely and this is because the Italian club aren’t at the same competitive level as Manchester City or PSG and also because Serie A isn’t a league that particularly attracts the player.

The Manchester United option is even less likely, while there hasn’t been any serious talk about Messi returning to Argentina and to Newell’s at this time.

This is why Manchester City have emerged as the leading candidate to sign the Argentine if he eventually decides to call time on his stay with the Catalans.