City willing to make staggering offer for Barcelona star

Manchester City are willing to offer Barcelona forward Lionel Messi £19.9m per season to make the switch from La Liga to the England, according to Spain newspaper Sport.

The Blues are also desperate to make Pep Guardiola their next manager, which could make any move more attractive for Messi to reunite with his former Barcelona head coach.

Messi, who currently earns £12m per season, would be set to earn a mammoth £7.9m increase should he make the move, which would see him pick up a weekly wage packet of £380,000 before tax.

Barcelona are reportedly confident Messi would reject any approach from City, but the Argentina international is suggested to have grown tired of the tax scandal that has engulfed his private life in Spain.

A knee injury saw the 28-year-old miss two months of the season, but it hasn’t stopped him from reaching his usual supernatural heights. In fact, only teammate Neymar (8.78) has garnered a higher WhoScored rating than Messi (8.41) across Europe’s top five leagues this season.

For more stats on Lionel Messi, click here to visit his WhoScored player page