Manchester City are reportedly planning to offer Barcelona's Lionel Messi a 3-year contract that would be followed with a move to MLS' New York City FC, City's partner club. Messi made the decision to leave Barcelona and there is no turning back.
According to ESPN journalists Rodrigo Faez and Moises Llorens, Manchester City took the lead in the race to sign Messi and the English club will offer the six-time Ballon d'Or winner a long-term contract that includes an MLS clause for him to join NYCFC after playing three years in the Premier League.
And that's not all, as they would offer Messi the chance to become an ambassador for the City Football Group, the holding company that owns Manchester City and NYCFC, among other clubs.
Everything sounds good for now, but there's a big problem: Barcelona. Messi wants to leave the Spanish club for free, while Barca would not let the superstar go for less than €223M. Messi has a release clause of €700M and his contract ends in 2021.
Lionel Messi and a move to the MLS
The City Football Group wants Messi to join the New York City FC after playing three years with Manchester City in the Premier League. Messi, 33, is still one of the best - if not the best - players in the world, and the company knows how important would be to have him in the New York franchise.
Inter Miami, with David Beckham, is another MLS club which would love to have Messi on its squad. It's not the first time that Messi has been linked with Inter Miami, as he claimed in 2018 that he could consider joining the team if Beckham called him in the future. Now, it seems like that moment has come.
