Lionel Messi has been in direct contact with Mauricio Pochettino as Paris Saint-Germain push to sign the former Barcelona superstar, according to reports.
Messi, 34, was unable to pen a new contract with Barca without breaching La Liga salary cap regulations, and the club confirmed he would not be re-signing at Camp Nou on Thursday evening.
This has prompted a frantic scramble for the Argentine's services, as up to this point it appeared only a matter of time before he rubber-stamped a new five-year deal.
PSG have emerged as favourites for Messi's services, but the announcement of his Barcelona exit caught them off guard.
That's according to The Athletic , which claims the French club insisted they do not have the funds to table a contract for Messi right up until his departure was confirmed.
The report adds PSG changed their stance between 10am and midnight after Messi made a personal approach to his compatriot Pochettino, leading to discussions taking place.
President Nasser Al-Khelaifi has taken charge of talks and PSG's operations team has put together financial forecasts of how Messi's arrival would pan out.
On Friday morning, they concluded the cost of signing the six-time Ballon d'Or winner would be outweighed by the revenue he would bring in for the club.
PSG are also adamant Messi would boost viewership and therefore television revenues for Ligue 1.
Meanwhile, Manchester City are considered PSG's main rivals to sign the Argentina captain - but there is a growing sense they will not make an approach.
Pep Guardiola's side completed a £100million swoop for Jack Grealish on Thursday and they are also keen to bring his England teammate Harry Kane to the Etihad.
City, like PSG, did not anticipate Barcelona's statement confirming Messi's departure and their summer business has revolved around Grealish and Kane.
Club chiefs were also left aggrieved last summer after they came close to signing Messi - who was pushing to leave Barcelona - only for the player to U-turn on his decision after a contract clause dispute.
PSG also made contact with Messi last summer and were unsuccessful in their approach, but they are in a stronger financial position than City to pull off the signing this time round.
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This comes as good news for Neymar, who previously outlined his desire to play alongside his former teammate once again.
"What I want most of all is to play with Messi again, to be able to enjoy him once again on the pitch," Neymar told ESPN last December.
"He can play in my place, I have no problem with that. But I want to play with him next year, for sure. We have to do it next season."
