According to Spanish newspaper AS, Manchester City would be ready to part with £164m to sign Barcelona star Lionel Messi. Xavi Torres of the Daily Sport explains that Messi's father, Jorge, met with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez over dinner recently to discuss the possibility of the Argentine joining Real Madrid, however, Messi refused to listen to the offer.
But with the 26-year-old's future still in the balance, Txiki Begiristain and Ferran Soriano, who worked with Messi just two years ago, are prepared to swoop for the goal machine should contract talks continue to stall.
The Sun report that Joleon Lescott will snub a big-money move to Turkish club Besiktas in favour of staying in the Premier League. The 31-year-old is out of contract in the summer with West Ham United and Aston Villa keen on capturing his signature.
(Lescott has made just 10 league appearances for the blues this season)
Yaya Touré has told reporters he expects Manchester City to win the Premier League, but has warned against complacency after his side's famous title win in 2012.
“We definitely expect for us to win [the title] now,” the Ivorian international is quoted as saying by Goal.com.
“It was important to win today to keep in the hunt for the title. Everton are a very good side, we knew that, and at the end it was very tight, very difficult. But we needed three points.
“We’ve been working so hard this year and if we don’t win the trophy now it will be a massive disappointment for us, and for the club and the fans as well.”
(The 19-goal midfielder's return to the side had given City a huge boost ahead of their last two home games)
“It’s definitely the same situation for us now as it was against QPR,” he added.
“West Ham and Aston Villa have good players and they can be difficult to play against, especially at the end of the season. They want to show their fans what they can do and end the season on a high.
“So we have to be clever against them and we have to keep our concentration because it isn’t finished yet.
“We need to be careful. Liverpool are still so close behind us, so we need to do the job in our final two games.
“We’ve already won the Capital One Cup, so winning two trophies in one season would be massive for the club. We need to deliver.”
In Other News
In other news, Brendan Rodgers has warned Manchester City that the Premier League title race is 'not over by a long way'. Liverpool's 2-0 loss to Chelsea last weekend allowed the blues back into the title race, but the Northern-Irishman believes anything could still happen after an unpredictable 2013/2014 campaign.
“The message to the players is take it to the final day,” said Rodgers. “We have seen so many things happen on the final day before. That is where we want the season to go that is for sure. Hopefully, it will.
(Brendan Rodgers still believes his side can win the Premier League title)
“Manchester City need to win all their games which means they will have won five games in a row and they have only done that once this season. So it will be a wee bit new for them as well. It is certainly not over by a long way.
“At this stage of the season to play three games that really, really matter is a real, real tough ask for them. Aston Villa are an incredible team the counter attack and better away from home and West Ham, on their day, can be a really difficult opponent.
“City beating Everton doesn’t deflate us because we would have had to win against Palaceno matter what. We have still got to do our job and win.”
