Danny Mills reckons Manchester City would be better off spending £700m on the likes of Lewandowski, Mbappe and Van Dijk rather than Messi.
Manchester City are the rumored favorites to sign Lionel Messi this summer should he leave Barcelona.
Talks remain ongoing between his father, Jorge, and the club’s president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, over his release after Wednesday’s meeting ended in a stalemate with neither willing to meet the other’s demands.
Messi hopes to exploit a clause in his contract that would make it void, meaning he’ll become a free agent. Although Barcelona and LaLiga both insist the option expired on June 10. Therefore, clubs will have to pay his full release clause or wait until his deal expires next year.
One side that could pay around £700m for the 33-year-old is Manchester City. It’s no secret the club owners would love to have him on their books, having allegedly attempted to do so in the past.
While Messi is apparently in favor of reuniting with his old Barcelona boss Pep Guardiola at the Etihad for one last shot at Champions League glory.
But Mills reckons City would be better off giving Messi a miss at £700m in favor of signing other players.
Virgil van Dijk is a must-buy along with Kevin De Bruyne, although City already have him. Then it’s between Robert Lewandowski and Kylian Mbappe.
The former Citizens defender told talkSPORT: “I look at this and think, where does Messi fit into the team? He’s given a free role at Barcelona, ‘play where you want to play’, but where does Messi play in Pep’s format?
“If you ask me, you have to fit him in because he is the best player in the world, the best I’ve ever seen, he’s sensational. You maybe might have to tinker with the formation and other personnel in the team and get that balance right.
❌ “£700m for Lionel Messi would be a vanity purchase.”
😲 “I’d get #LFC’s Van Dijk for £250m & #MCFC’s KDB for £200m.”
🔥 “Finally, do I go for Lewandowski or Mbappe? I think I’d go Lewandowski.”
Danny Mills looks at how he’d spend the £700m it would take to buy Messi. pic.twitter.com/ZGhjJ0fmiC
— talkSPORT (@talkSPORT) September 2, 2020
“Because he’s not where he was four or five years ago, he wouldn’t do that tracking back, he’s 33. Although, you don’t want him to do that I suppose, you’d want him to use all his energy going forward.
“It would be a vanity buy, wouldn’t it. That’s all it would be. ‘I want Messi because he’s the best player in the world’.
“When you talk about rebuilding a football team, that £700m in two years’ time is going to be pretty much worthless. You’re not going to get that back for him, even if he goes to China or MLS.
“If I had that money to spend on transfers [at any club], you know what I’d do? I would get Virgil van Dijk in immediately, £200m or £250m, would Liverpool take that? They probably wouldn’t have a choice, they’d have to.
“Then I’d get Kevin De Bruyne, I’d take him as well for another £200m. So that’s £400m or £450m gone, and then I’d be thinking it’s between Robert Lewandowski or Kylian Mbappe.
“Mbappe has a bit more of a resale going forward, but for an out-and-out goalscorer right now I think I’d buy Lewandowski.”
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