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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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2Manchester CityMan City1072121111023
3Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest10541147719
4Chelsea105322012818
5Arsenal105321711618
6Aston Villa105321715218
7Tottenham HotspurSpurs1051422111116
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton104421714316
9Bournemouth104331312115
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle104331010015
11Brentford94141818013
12Fulham93331212012
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd10334912-312
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham103251319-611
15Leicester CityLeicester102441418-410
16Everton102351017-79
17Crystal Palace10145813-57
18Ipswich TownIpswich100551021-115
19Southampton10118719-124
20Wolverhampton WanderersWolves100371427-133


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