English Premier League club Manchester City is “ready to offer” Spanish football giant Barcelona £89.5 million ($118.1 million) in addition to Brazilian forward player Gabriel Jesus, Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva and Spanish back player Eric Garcia in exchange for club superstar Lionel Messi, the Daily Mail reported on Thursday.
Following multiple reports on Messi's desire to depart Camp Nou, where he has played for almost 20 years, Messi was said to have been in contact with his former coach and current manager of Manchester City, Pep Guardiola, about playing at the City’s Etihad.
Guardiola coached at Barca in the period between 2007 and 2012, before moving to Bayern Munich and then to the City in 2016.
According to the Mail, the Argentine discussed with Guardiola issues of settling in England and learning the language.
Although Barcelona is reportedly unwilling to let Messi go, as the Argentinian striker’s fans protest his reported desire to leave the Spanish club, the Man City offer is expected to change Catalan minds, as the deal would reportedly bring Jesus to the Nou Camp, a player they have been interested in as a replacement for striker Luis Suarez.
According to Sport.es, Barcelona and Man City failed to agree on an earlier Jesus deal because the English club stipulated a £20.5m ($27m) price tag in order to let go of the 23-year-old player.