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Lionel Messi to Man City: Pep Guardiola prepares £275m deal for Barcelona star - report
MANCHESTER CITY are preparing a world-record bid to trigger Lionel Messi's release clause and sign the Barcelona star, according to reports in France.
Messi scores incredible last minute winning goal for Barcelona
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is keen to bring in more players before the transfer window closes.
The boss has already been granted £220million to spend on new recruits this summer.
But City are willing to DOUBLE their outlay in order to land Messi.
According to Yahoo Sports France journalist Romain Collet-Gaudin, City are prepared to pay Messi’s £275m release clause.
LIONEL MESSI UPDATE: MAN CITY DENY BID
French broadcasters Canal Plus and Eurosport are also reporting the revelations.
City owner Khaldoon Al Mubarak is said to be begin work on a deal on Friday.
Manchester City want to sign Lionel Messi
������⚠️������ #ManchesterCity va tout faire pour acheter #Messi, #ManCity est prêt à payer la clause de 300M€ ! (Via @RomainCG75) pic.twitter.com/l1s5ZhbRbX
— Yahoo Sport France (@YahooSportFR) August 20, 2017
Messi is yet to sign a new contract at Barca even though an agreement on a fresh deal was announced by the club earlier this summer.
His current clause was meant to ensure he couldn’t be bought by a rival club.
Spanish players must have release clauses in their contracts.
Yahoo Sport France claim City ‘will do everything’ to land Messi.
City are also interested in £60m-rated Alexis Sanchez - although Arsenal are refusing to let their star go.
Lionel Messi has a £275m release clause
Lionel Messi is yet to sign a new contract at Barcelona
Barca have already reluctantly sold Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in a £200m deal this summer.
PSG triggered the release clause and paid up front for the player.
And with Luis Suarez currently out injured, losing Messi would be a hammer blow for manager Ernesto Valverde.
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