It's difficult to take 'Lionel Messi to City' stories seriously. A mixture of world class ability, loyalty to Barcelona and a whopping price tag ensure City fans glance over these rumours with little interest, but with Barcelona's recent confrontation with controversy hogging the headlines, the 'Messi to City' stories have popped up once again.
According to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial, Manchester City will meet Messi's €200m buyout clause in the summer and then leave the decision up to the forward. Reports suggest the superstar has become increasingly frustrated with life in Spain following revelations regarding Neymar's transfer deal. Although the move remains highly unlikely, we can always hope!
Football Direct News report that City are interested in signing Lyon midfielder Gueïda Fofana. The 22-year-old Frenchman snubbed a move to the blues back in 2011 when he opted for a switch to the French side, but Manuel Pellegrini is believed to be an admirer of the central midfielder and could launch a bid for the player at the end of the season.
(Gueïda Fofana has been added to the growing list of Manchester City midfield targets)
Former Liverpool flop Milan Jovanović has told fellow countryman Aleksandar Mitrović to consider a move to Manchester City. The 19-year-old wonderkid, who won the European under-19 Golden Ball last summer, was targeted by Arsenal in June, but Jovanović claims the Serbian should be targeting bigger clubs.
"On his 25th Mitrovic should play at Manchester City or a big German club. He's a real finisher, a scourge in the box. You can never be 100% sure, but I predicted it all in Romelu Lukaku. Mitrovic is different, but he is built for the summit."
In other news, Sergio Agüero has had positive words to say about his manager in a recent interview with the Daily Mirror. The Argentine praised the Chilean's man management skills and said his side are capable of winning the treble this season.
(The striker is impressed with his new manager's man-management abilities)
"Every manager is different, and with Manuel what he does is he talks a lot to all of us and treats every player the same," he declared.
"This is important. He says things to motivate us and that's good. I'm pleased as it [the Capital One Cup] is the first trophy for Manuel.
"This is important. He says things to motivate us and that's good. I'm pleased as it [the Capital One Cup] is the first trophy for Manuel.
"We've adapted quite quickly to his way of playing and I'm pleased as he's given us a lot of guidance.
"I'd love to win that [the treble] and I think we can aim for that."
"I'd love to win that [the treble] and I think we can aim for that."
