Former Manchester City striker Emile Mpenza says the club don’t need Lionel Messi and should rather set their priorities elsewhere.
Manchester City should not set their sights on a Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi reunion. They should rather aim to sort their defensive instability, says ex-striker Emile Mpenza.
A move to the Etihad Stadium for a six-time Ballon d’Or winner continues to make the rounds in the media.
City were considered to be leading the chase for a much sought-after signature once Messi mentioned his desire to leave Camp Nou over the summer.
Exit doors were soon shut off in Catalunya, but the Argentine is only tied to a contract through to 2021.
He will be free to speak with his many suitors from January, with City admitting to having the funds in place if Guardiola wanted a deal to be discussed.
Mpenza expects the former Barca boss to work with Messi again at some stage in the future, but feels that will happen in MLS as adding another forward to their ranks makes no sense for City.
The ex-Blues striker told the Manchester Evening News: “I think that with all the defensive problems Guardiola has, he doesn’t really need someone like Messi.”
“He should sort the leaky defence out first. [Vincent] Kompany has left a huge hole at the heart of the defence and City are yet to find the stability they had when Kompany was running the backline.”
“It’s a tall order to fill Vincent’s shoes and what’s the point of signing Messi with all the issues they have at the back?”
His reason being that City already have enough players that can do what Messi does.
“They have enough players in his position like [Riyad] Mahrez and [Sergio] Aguero. If they sign Messi that would be too many players for the same position and cause problems,” he continued.
“I believe that he will link up with Pep Guardiola again at some point in his career, but not at City itself but rather for their partner club New York City FC.”
“Guardiola has managed in three of the best European leagues such as La Liga, the Premier League and Bundesliga with only Serie A missing. For me, MLS is his next stop and he will take Messi with him there.”
There is no talk about Messi and his future at the moment but the rumor mill could be up again when the January window opens.
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