{"id":543130,"date":"2020-02-06T13:19:34","date_gmt":"2020-02-06T18:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonfootball.com\/?p=543130"},"modified":"2020-02-06T13:19:34","modified_gmt":"2020-02-06T18:19:34","slug":"if-lionel-messi-leaves-barcelona-manchester-city-are-ready","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2020\/02\/06\/if-lionel-messi-leaves-barcelona-manchester-city-are-ready\/","title":{"rendered":"REPORT: Manchester City in Pole Position if Lionel Messi Leaves Barcelona"},"content":{"rendered":"

If Lionel Messi leaves Barcelona<\/a>, Manchester City<\/a> feel they are in the best position to sign him, according to a new report in the Manchester Evening News<\/a>.\u00a0 After Messi’s latest outburst and all the drama surrounding it<\/a>, teams are once again on alert to the possibility that Messi could leave Barcelona.<\/p>\n

Manchester City in Pole Position if Lionel Messi Leaves<\/h2>\n

It’s a Big If<\/h3>\n

Barcelona are in a crisis.\u00a0 The team is struggling, they’ve changed coaches and the board of directors are causing huge problems. Once Messi complained about the club’s situation on Instagram, you could almost hear the Manchester City rumours writing themselves.<\/p>\n

Manchester City will always feel they have a chance to sign Messi.\u00a0 They have the money and plenty of people who he enjoys working with.<\/p>\n

The reality is that Messi is probably never going to play in England.\u00a0 The Argentine has said in the past that he would only leave Barcelona to return to Argentina<\/a> but even his dream of returning to play for Newel’s Old Boys, the club he started playing at as a child, seems unlikely.<\/p>\n

He has always made his intentions clear.\u00a0 He is going to try and make it work with Barcelona.\u00a0 \u00a0Even this latest dust-up has already been cleared away, with Messi and Eric Abidal<\/a> making amends<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lastly, Messi has a contract clause that allows him to renew his deal on a year-to-year basis.\u00a0 So, this likely isn’t the last we have heard of these rumours.\u00a0 But, every rumour about Messi’s future must be read carefully.\u00a0 Messi’s representatives are smart and they will be using this clause to put pressure on a board that has done a terrible job of keeping the team around him at it’s best in the years he has been there.<\/p>\n

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Main Photo<\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>