City could offer two players in Messi bid - report
Manchester City are reportedly prepared to offer Eric Garcia and Angelino to Barcelona in a bid to convince the Catalan club to part ways with Lionel Messi.
According to ESPN , City are willing to spend between €100million and €150million in order to sign the six-time Ballon d’Or winner, who earlier this week stunned Barca by declaring his intention to leave.
Angelino has returned to City having spent the second half of the 2019/20 season on loan at RB Leipzig, while Garcia has yet to sign a new contract with his current deal set to expire in 2021.
Messi has asked Barca to honour a clause in his contract that would allow him to walk away for free but it is thought the deadline for that has passed.
ESPN also report that City would look to keep Messi at the Etihad for three years before moving him on to New York City FC and promoting him to an ambassadorial role with the City Football Group.
Barcelona must stand firm with Messi - Ronaldo
Brazil legend Ronaldo insists Barcelona must not consider selling Messi this summer.
The 43-year-old said the Argentine forward will not have fallen out of love with Barca despite recent developments.
"It’s very unlikely that he’ll be able to leave Barcelona at the moment, especially when there’s a crisis of results," Ronaldo told a webinar hosted by Santander.
"Messi is a reference for the team and, if I were Barcelona, I wouldn’t let him leave in any situation.
"He has a great and strong relationship with the club and I don’t think he’ll stop being in love with the team."
Arteta would welcome Messi arrival in England
Mikel Arteta says he would welcome Messi’s arrival in the Premier League even if it meant the Argentine going up against his Arsenal side.
Arteta, who left City to to become Arsenal manager in December, has followed Messi’s career closely as a lifelong supporter of Barcelona.
And the Spaniard, who admits it would be sad to see Messi leave the Catalan giants, said a Premier League switch would be ‘good for football’.
“He’s been linked everywhere. He has more clubs than any other player in history after him," Arteta said. "I’ve been a Barcelona fan since I was young so it’s always sad to see what in my opinion has been the best player in football history leave that football club.
“But, I don’t know, let’s see what happens and if he comes to England, we are all going to enjoy it.
"It doesn’t matter if it’s against Arsenal. It’s good for football. If it’s not there we might find him in the Champions League.
“You want the best players in your league. For me, that is the best thing as an athlete, to have the most competitive league in the world.
“The Premier League always had that. With Ronaldo, I played against him when he was great, it raises the level of every individual and every team as well.”
