The rumor mill has been on overdrive ever since the announcement came out the Argentine superstar will no longer continue at Barca.
Pep Guardiola has poured cold water on rumors linking Lionel Messi to Manchester City saying signing the former FC Barcelona man “is not in our thoughts”.
In what came as a huge shock to the club’s supporters as well as to football fans in general, Barcelona confirmed on Thursday that their discussions with Messi regarding his renewal have broken down.
European heavyweights have been on alert ever since, with Paris Saint-Germain and Man City considered as leading candidates to land the record six-time Ballon d’Or winner.
It has been suggested moving to the Etihad could be tempting for the 34-year-old given his past relationship with Guardiola – a manager who helped him scale great heights of success during their time together at Camp Nou.
As it turns out, however, the Sky Blues, who just broke the British transfer record to bring in Jack Grealish, have no plans to work out another high-profile transfer.
“It looked like it finished well in terms of continuing with Barcelona and in the end, it was a surprise for everyone, me included of course but I think Joan Laporta was clear today the reason why,” Guardiola said, as Sky Sports reports.
“We spent £40million on Jack Grealish. £100million we pay and £60million we won in the last year and he will bring the number 10 because we were convinced for Jack Grealish.
“Right now it is not in our thoughts [to sign Messi].”
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