Report: Manchester City courting Messi with £100 million bid

FC Barcelona

In the world of soccer, file this one under big news. Hell, in any world.

According to a report by the Mirror, Manchester City is preparing to open its pocketbook to the tune of £100 million in an attempt to swipe Leo Messi from Barcelona.

Deep breaths. Deep, deep breaths.

Jorge Messi, the superstar’s father and adviser, has — according to the report — broken off talks with Barcelona. Only about 16 months remain on Lionel’s current contract with FCB.

In addition to Jorge freezing out the club, another major obstacle from Barcelona’s perspective are La Liga’s player budget rules. Teams are capped at spending no more than 70 percent of their income on player salaries.

Why is this problematic? With so many big-name, high-earning footballers on the roster, it will be very difficult to pay the Argentinian legend what he’s worth.

Luis Suarez and Neymar both signed enormous deals with the club in the past few months. In December, Suarez agreed to a new contract that will keep him in a blue and red shirt for the next 4 1/2 years. In October, Neymar inked a five-year deal that will lock up his services through most of 2021.

And, as if there weren’t already enough concerns for FCB, Messi is also joined at the hip with Man City boss Pep Guardiola. The two developed a solid rapport during Guardiola’s tenure at Barcelona from 2008-2012.

Sky Sports

The Mirror report also suggests that Barcelona has been plotting to bring Guardiola back into the fold, likely to appease Messi. However, cold water has since been thrown on that rumor by none other than Guardiola himself.

If a Messi-Guardiola reunion is to happen, it’ll have to be at the Etihad.

While Barcelona finding a way to retain Messi is certainly well within the realm of possibility, it’s looking less and less likely by the day.

Follow Kevin on Twitter: @KJboxing.