Messi's father flies to England amid transfer speculations

Manchester City is believed to be in pole position when it comes to the clubs that are racing to sign FC Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi. Latest reports suggest that Messi's father has already flown to England to negotiate the terms of the blockbuster transfer deal.

While every team on the planet would want to snatch up the Argentine, only a select few can actually afford him. City is definitely one of those clubs, thanks to the money that is coming in from the United Arab Emirates.

Apart from the financial considerations, a move to Manchester City would mean a reunion between the Barcelona captain and his former coach, Pep Guardiola. The pair had a good relationship during their time with the Catalan club, winning numerous trophies together. Messi would no doubt be comfortable working with Guardiola again.

Multiple publications in and out of Spain have reported that Jorge Messi, the player's father, is already discussing a two-year deal with the Sky Blues. The news comes after it was also widely reported that Messi's legal team had already informed Barcelona that he intends to leave this summer.

However, the terms of a possible transfer hangs in a balance. Messi's free transfer window expired back in June, and the club believes that they can activate a £631 million release clause. However, due to the delayed conclusion of the 2019-20 season because of the coronavirus pandemic, Messi's lawyers believe that the free transfer window should have also been pushed into August.

The whole debacle between Messi and the club reached its boiling point after the team suffered a humiliating 2-8 defeat against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Manager Quique Setien was sacked and replaced by Ronald Koeman. However, the move made the situation even worse as Messi did not agree with the new manager's plans for the future.

Koeman reportedly plans to sell the likes of Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal, while also telling Messi that he won't be enjoying the same privileges as he once did at the Camp Nou.