Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi

Manchester City are preparing a record-breaking €200m bid for Barcelona star Lionel Messi, according to Spanish reports.

The striker, who is considered one of the greatest players in history, would be willing to leave the Catalan giants as he is currently in a delicate situation.

For only the second time in his career as a first-team player, Messi's teammates have reproached his apathetic and absent attitude, upsetting the Argentinian. This tense situation in the dressing room in addition to his tax problems, have led Messi to think of solutions and one of them could be a change of scenery.

The four-time Ballon d'Or winner knows that he could find a more suitable and less pressured environment at Manchester City. In fact, part of the structure which underpinned Barcelona's rise to greatness is now located in Manchester, in the form of Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain.

According to El Confidencial, Manchester City owner Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan's main goal is bringing Messi to the Premier League, and he is planning to meet his €200m buy-out clause.

Paris Saint-Germain are also interested in the star as they contemplate the possible departure of Zlatan Ibrahimovic. However, despite their tremendous economic power, the French club have a problem in the form of France's 75% tax rate.

This way, Barcelona's directors know that they have to do something with Messi's renewal if they do not want to lose the player who has been the reference point for Barca for the past five years.

Premier League