Lionel Messi Impressed as Manchester City Open £200M Training Academy

Manchester City have opened their stunning £200 million training complex, and even Lionel Messi was left mightily impressed by the facilities on show.

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

The Barcelona man trained at the City Football Academy (CFA) ahead of Argentina’s recent friendly match with Portugal at Old Trafford and according to David McDonnell of The Mirror, the 27-year-old was “left open-mouthed in amazement” by the calibre of the complex.

Messi’s compatriot and Manchester City right-back Pablo Zabaleta revealed that all those in attendance had positive words to say about the facility, per McDonnell’s piece:

"

We gave Messi a tour just to try to impress him. No, I'm joking! But everyone was impressed. When you come here and see the buildings and stuff it is fantastic.

They also have a good training ground in Barcelona, with great facilities. Messi has been there for a long time, and even if he was impressed by this.

We also went to Carrington - our old training ground - and there is a big difference between the two, which we were talking about it.

"

Vadim Ghirda/Associated Press

City have now officially opened the complex, and as we can see courtesy of their official Twitter account, it looks just as impressive as Zabaleta described it:

One of the most positive facets of Sheikh Mansour’s ownership of the club has been the regeneration of the east Manchester area and the CFA is a prime indicator of their commitment to invest in the city, not just a football club.

This latest unveiling is also another sign that the club’s owners are certainly in it for the long haul with City, as they plot a path towards domestic and European domination, as well as galvanising a small corner of the north-west of England that had previously fallen on hard times.

These facilities will do plenty to inspire youngsters from local districts too, as noted by the City Twitter account:

For all their stellar names, it seems the club has not forgotten the importance of homegrown talent, so it was encouraging to hear Chancellor George Osborne pledge to make a substantial investment in grass roots football at the opening of the CFA, per fcbusiness Magazine:

At the other end of the spectrum, it’s these kinds of facilities that will also make the English champions an even more attractive proposition to the world’s best players. So now, not only are City flush with cash, but they have a wonderful stadium—which will be expanding in capacity very soon—and arguably the very best training facilities in the country.

In an excellent touch, the complex has a bridge which links the Etihad Stadium to the CFA. It's a symbolic, motivational tool for the young players looking to make it to the top level, as are the images of Vincent Kompany lifting silverware and the references to "93:20," the time on the clock when Sergio Aguero scored his title-winning goal against QPR back in 2012:

City supporters running the rule of these facilities will feel content that the future of the club is a very bright one indeed. According to Brian Marwood, per Henry Winter of The Telegraph, the aim is not only to build and develop fine young footballers, but to refine and create better people too. “It’s our version of the Milan Lab,” he claimed.

Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The club has come an astonishingly long way since being taken over Sheikh Mansour. No longer do they mawkishly throw money at big-name players like Robinho and Kaka; City are now a slick, professional and successful outfit. They are a proper modern-day European super-club.

The CFA is an emphatic indicator of that, and it seems all that is associated the club—whether it be supporters, players or local residents—are set to reap the obvious benefits for a long time yet.