Barcelona Transfer News: Conflicting Reports on Lionel Messi, Manchester City

Shock reports emerged on Sunday linking Barcelona star Lionel Messi with a move to Manchester City, with a reporter from Yahoo Sport France stating the Citizens are willing to trigger the Argentinian's enormous £275 million buyout clause.

According to Romain Collet-Gaudin (via The Sun's Andrew Richardson), Messi has yet to sign a new contract with the Camp Nou club, with his current deal set to expire at the end of the season. This could tempt City manager Pep Guardiola into trying his luck, per the report.

The report also stated Messi had recently started following the Citizens' Instagram account, although this turned out to be wrong―the Barca star has been doing so since 2014, as uncovered by City Watch.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has been periodically linked with a move away from his longtime club for years, usually during times when the Catalans struggle. After their disappointing showing over two legs against rivals Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, the rumour mill is again churning.

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City are among a select few clubs with the resources to pull off such a massive deal, and the link with former manager Guardiola explains why Messi could be tempted to make the unlikely move. 

The Catalans announced in July that Messi had agreed to a contract renewal until the 2021 season, saying the 30-year-old would sign the deal at some point in the near future, but there has been no official confirmation since then. 

City have already added the likes of Bernardo Silva, Danilo and Benjamin Mendy this summer, and adding another £275 million to their expenses would put a real strain on their financial fair play requirements.

A transfer seems highly unlikely at this point, however, with so little time left in the summer window.