Manchester City will no longer pursue one of the world’s best even though Pep Guardiola has committed his future to the club long-term.
Lionel Messi‘s life and time at the Camp Nou with Barcelona will remain doubtful until he retires it seems. The club is experiencing a tough run in the La Liga this season, with the forward also finding it difficult to find his rhythm.
Back over at Manchester City, Pep Guardiola is enduring his worst start to a campaign as a manager. They picked up their second loss of the season, sit in the bottom half of the Premier League standings, and have collected as few as 12 points from the 24 played for after eight games.
This was a bit of a surprise considering the Manchester club gave their players some fantastic news that Guardiola has committed his long-term future to the club. The Spaniard is now contracted to them until the year 2023. This was a massive boost midweek, therefore giving the impression the club would be on a high heading into Matchday 9.
Sadly, they faced a Spurs side firing on all cylinders. Jose pulled off a typical Mourinho masterclass and beat last season’s runners-up by 2-0, putting them at the summit of the EPL standings. Pep’s contract extension also shed some light on Messi’s transfer to the club.
He was heavily linked with a move to the Etihad as all reports suggested the English side to be the leaders in the Messi race. It was simple maths actually. If Pep stays, Lionel would make the switch. But Semra Hunter believes he is no longer a priority in their future transfer business.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Semra Hunter said:
I have it on good authority from someone close to the situation that Manchester City are not going to bid for Lionel Messi. Based on the information I have, as of today, that door is closed.
They have their reasons for this. 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.
Hunter went on in saying the club would use a lot of its resources to fund a Messi transfer despite him being a free agent next summer. Sources close to the club admitted they will not be able to justify his huge wage bill of £89m-per-year (€100m) that he currently earns at Barca.
It would take a lot of chopping and changing and pay cuts here and there to cater to the multimillion man.
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 100m 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. (Via: Sky Sports)
Adding to the dead-end Messi transfer
Pep Guardiola also spoke out on the Messi speculation saying he would love for the Argentine to end his illustrious career at the Catalan club with him being a vivid Barcelona supporter.
Pep on Messi and finishing his club career there:
🗣”What I want is for him to finish his career there that’s what I want, I would love and wish, I have said it 1000 times, I’d like as a Barca fan for Leo to finish there”
Pep Guardiola on if him staying at Manchester City means that Lionel Messi will join the club next year pic.twitter.com/yeQaiuViiN
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) November 20, 2020
This is sad news if you a Premier League fan and want to see one the world’s best grace the pitch on English soil, week in and week out. However, do not give up hope of it ever happening.
Things change rapidly in football. One day a player is happy the next, he hands in a transfer request and is on his way out of the club. PSG remains a prime destination for Barca’s top scorer.
Source: https://thetopflight.com/2020/11/23/messi-transfer-premier-league-appears-completely-dead/