The Argentine telling Barcelona he wanted to leave the club has set a small handful of their European competitions scrambling for their chequebooks, but how interested should they be in signing the 33-year-old?
Match
Manchester City and Lionel Messi have this strange aura about them as a couple, which is only strengthened by the presence of Pep Guardiola as the manager and a host of former-Barca men upstairs.
Apart from being the best player in the world, what else could Messi offer, especially being near, or past, the very peak of his powers?
It might sound like a stupid question, but if the MailOnline’s reports are to be believed, City are willing to sacrifice a lot of their medium-term security for one intoxicating short-term fling.
Short Sighted
Cash, plus Gabriel Jesus, Berardo Silva and Eric Garcia could be used to entice Barcelona into selling their most prize possession, but what happens in two-years when Messi is 35 and can’t do the things that he once could?
Swapping Jesus and Garcia for this generational talent make the most about of sense. Garcia has already said he wants to leave and won’t be signing a new deal, therefor there’s little risk in including the former Barcelona schoolboy in the deal.
Frustrated
Jesus has frustrated City and Guardiola with his suspect finishing and inability to improve in that regard. As each season passes, the same questions are asked of the Brazilian and it doesn’t appear likely that the 23-year-old will ever answer them.
Silva is the biggest surprise. He’s only 26 and has been an incredibly important part of City’s squad for the past couple of years. As Messi edges towards retirement, he still won’t be 30 and it’s a risk to sacrifice the man who’s played 105 Premier League games since 2017 for Messi.
Another Way
It looks like this club, who have been so good at forward planning, are going to throw that out of the window to bring in someone who will be too old before they know it at the expense of someone who could still get better.
Silva will never reach Messi levels because nobody will. But as hard to turn down as this deal will be, City should find another way to finance one for Messi.