Manchester City is the team that was closest to taking Leo Messi this summer. The complications of the Argentine to disengage from Barcelona truncated the dream of every 'citizen' fan, or at least delayed it for a month. Messi's new contract with the Blaugrana ends again next June. Or what is the same: as of January he is once again free to negotiate with the team he wants.
The newspaper “Telegraph” has already published that Manchester City is willing to offer him a pre-contract in January to join the Premier League for the 2021-22 season. According to information in the British newspaper, Messi is in no rush to talk about his future. Specifically, until the future of the Barcelona board is resolved, a moment that Manchester City will take advantage of to try again to convince the Argentine star.
According to UEFA regulations, Messi can already negotiate with any club from January 1 to the end of his contract with Barcelona on June 30. That may accelerate City's plan to hire him, as it is not the only club that is interested in the Argentine. Curiously, the citizen team is in a similar situation with its coach, Pep Guardiola, who has not renewed and it is not certain that he will continue from next year.