The Spanish press is following the developments of the Argentine star Lionel Messi’s crisis, who asked to leave Barcelona, and the latest reports confirmed that Manchester City had offered 5 players to sign Messi.
According to the available data, Manchester City is the closest club to winning the Messi deal, as it was reported that the Argentine player agreed with the team on the details of the contract and his annual salary, and spoke by phone with coach Pep Guardiola in preparation for his accession to the former champion of the English Premier League.
However, the obstacle standing in the way of the completion of the deal now is the agreement with the management of the Catalan club, and while President Josep Maria Bartomeu refuses any talk about Messi's departure and adheres to the 700 million euros value of the penalty clause, Manchester City seeks to reduce the cost of the deal by offering a group of players in exchange for a contract with Messi.
The Mundo Deportivo newspaper stated that the list includes Algerian star Riad Mahrez, Portuguese striker Bernardo Silva and Brazilian Gabriel Jesus, in addition to defenders Eric Garcia and Angelino.
On the other hand, the BBC quoted a source from Manchester City that it denied the offer of Mahrez, Silva and Jesus. Different.
Messi is expected to come out soon to reveal the mystery surrounding his future, and it is expected that this will take place before next Sunday, which is the date set for Barcelona players to undergo a test to detect the Corona virus before resuming training, starting from Monday in preparation for the new season.