Lionel Messi was believed to be open to joining Manchester City when he was preparing to leave Barcelona, but ultimately the move never happened. The reason why has now reportedly been revealed.
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The 2020/21 campaign was the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner’s final season at the Camp Nou.
The diminutive icon was coming off another brilliant individual campaign as Blaugrana captain, scoring 38 goals and providing 14 assists in all competitions as he ran down the final year of his contract.
He wanted to sign an extension with the club, but marred by financial controversy, the Spanish giants did not have the adequate funds to re-sign their all-time top goalscorer.
This situation opened the door for the Rosario native to play for another professional club for the first time in his career, and it is believed he was keen to make the move to the Etihad Stadium.
It was claimed the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner wanted to work under his former manager Pep Guardiola and also play alongside his good friend Sergio Aguero at City.
While achieving the former was seen as a formality, the latter would prove a difficult conundrum as Messi's compatriot was coming off an injury-riddled campaign, consequently leading to Guardiola being unable to guarantee the then-free agent that Aguero would still be at the club if he did sign for the Citizens.
According to El Chiringuito, it was because of this likely inability to play alongside his friend that he ultimately opted against making the move to Manchester.
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The 36-year-old would go on to link up with another friend of his, Neymar, when he signed for Paris Saint-Germain.
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