Barcelona Transfer News: Lionel Messi Manchester City Bid Rumours Emerge

Manchester City are willing to fork out an unprecedented fee in order to land Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi and will hand the Argentina international a massive wage increase if he comes to the Etihad Stadium.

Tomas Andreu of Spanish newspaper Sport, citing an earlier report from the Sun, claimed the Citizens will make a "huge offer" for Messi. But he added City would pay the forward €27 million (£19.9 million) per season.   

Eugene Hoshiko/Associated Press

That's a reported €7 million annual increase on the €20 million he currently earns at the Camp Nou and is equal to just over £380,000 per week before tax.

Andreu's report goes on to say "Barcelona are confident the star will reject the approach," but these are astronomical figures we're talking about, the kind that make the impossible entirely more realistic.

There's no specific mention of the figure City would be willing to pay, but La Liga expert Graham Hunter wrote an article for ESPN FC in October and detailed his buyout clause to be €250 million (£184.4 million).

Even then, Messi would have to agree on a move to Manchester, but it's been suggested by Spanish radio station Cadena Cope that his tax evasion case could push him to leave Spain (h/t Independent's Tom Sheen).

Ex-Chelsea and Manchester City midfielder Frank Lampard recently hailed Messi as simply "the best," per Barcelona's official YouTube account, but the question is whether his talent would translate well to England:

The 28-year-old first moved to Catalonia from his native Argentina in 2001, going on to claim almost every award on offer in world football, including four Ballon d'Or crowns and four UEFA Champions League titles.

Former United States international Taylor Twellman has suggested a major factor in the tipped deal is Pep Guardiola's projected takeover at the City helm following confirmation he'll leave Bayern Munich this summer:

After more than 14 years at the Camp Nou, many of which have resulted in untold trophy success, it seems impossible to envision Messi without his attachment to Barcelona.

However, of all the clubs with even the slightest chance of financing his departure from the Blaugrana, Premier League giants Manchester City can perhaps be considered the most viable of suitors.

Messi is already raking in a massive wage of around £300,000 per week at Barca, but the temptation allegedly being offered by Abu Dhabi-owned City may yet tease the South American to consider a switch.

His acquisition could finally lead to an answer regarding how Messi would do on a damp trip to Stoke in February, with some gargantuan figures already being banded about for a potentially earth-shattering deal.