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Lionel Messi deal 'would cost Manchester City £500m'

Any deal to take Barcelona talisman Lionel Messi to Manchester City would reportedly cost the Premier League club more than half a billion pounds.

Any deal to take Lionel Messi to Manchester City would reportedly cost the Premier League club £500m, making it the biggest transfer in football history.

City are thought to be working on the financial possibility of reuniting Messi with Pep Guardiola after the six-time Ballon d'Or winner signalled his intention to leave Barcelona earlier this week.

One option City are weighing up is to offer Messi a three-year deal at the Etihad Stadium, which would take him beyond the age of 36, and to then include a clause which would see him join sister club New York City FC in MLS.

The Telegraph reports that such a deal could set Man City back half a billion pounds, though, with the bulk of that being spent on Messi's wages.

The 33-year-old is understood to earn a base salary of around £90m per year which could rise to as much as £110m per year with added bonuses and clauses, valuing a three-year contract at up to £330m.

Barcelona are also reportedly holding out for a world-record bid before they consider accepting an offer for their greatest ever player, which would mean spending at least £200m more to bring him to the Etihad Stadium.

Messi's release clause in his current Barcelona contract stands at €700m (£626.7m), but he is arguing that a clause which would allow him to leave for free should have been extended in line with the prolonged season due to coronavirus.

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3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
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12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
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14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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