Manchester City said to be interested in offering Lionel Messi a ten-year deal

Lionel Messi‘s future has dominated and will dominate Barcelona news until a concrete resolution is decided upon.

The Argentine tried to leave the club this past summer only for a contractual misunderstanding to force him to stay, and his contract runs out at the end of June.

The latest twist in the tale comes from British newspaper The Times as reported by Diario Sport. They allege that Manchester City, his most determined suitors, are interested in putting on the table a ten-year contract that would see Messi eventually become the club’s global ambassador.

The contract would include several seasons working with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City before opening the door to spending time with one of the eight franchises the City Football Group has around the world, including Yokohama, Melbourne and New York.

Then, when Messi retires, he would become City’s global ambassador. The Argentine is said to be keen on waiting to see who’s elected in Barcelona’s presidential race on January 24th before making any definitive decision on his future.

Messi, despite evidently slowing down as he begins to enter his mid-30s, registered 31 goals and 27 assists last season from 44 appearances. The season before he scored 51 goals and contributed 20 assists from 50 games.

Barcelona‘s 1-0 defeat at Atletico Madrid on Saturday evening was the first time the Catalans have lost against a team coached by Cholo Simeone. It was a bad result, one that leaves Barcelona in 12th place.

The Azulgrana are currently 12 points behind league leaders Real Sociedad and just four clear of bottom-placed Celta Vigo. It’s mid-November and Barcelona are three times closer to the bottom than to the top.

Featured image courtesy of Goal.

Tags Barcelona La Liga Lionel Messi Pep Guardiola
La Liga - Club News