Barcelona Transfer News: Latest Rumours on Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola reportedly returned to former club Barcelona in an attempt to sign no fewer than four of his former stars this past summer, including Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo (h/t Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness) reported Manchester City hunted that pair, as well as Neymar and Sergio Busquets, before the Premier League giants were told to look elsewhere.

Guardiola will return to the Camp Nou on Wednesday evening as his City side take on Barca in the UEFA Champions League, where he'll have the pleasure of seeing his missed transfer targets live in action.

According to the report, Guardiola first targeted Suarez before turning his attention to Messi, and City director Ferran Soriano actually contacted Neymar's agent before he rejected the approach. Juan Jimenez of Spanish daily AS reported on Monday the Brazilian is set to sign a new deal this Friday:

It was only then the Citizens looked to midfield anchor Busquets, and though he declined, Guardiola did at least land one Barcelona target in the form of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.

It's intriguing Uruguay international Suarez seemed to be considered the priority among the Barca quartet, and Liverpool writer Dave O'Connell noted in the summer that his £70 million transfer in 2013 now looks a bargain:

The Sun's Sunni Upal reported in September that City held three talks with the representatives of Messi and Neymar before coming to the conclusion the dream pair were "unattainable."

One player who might like to see Messi arrive at the Etihad Stadium is his Argentina team-mate, Sergio Aguero, and the City striker hailed his countryman's talents leading up to Wednesday's duel, per Spanish daily Sport:

"

All we can hope is that he has a bad day and our defence plays the game of its life. It’s that difficult because Leo is the best in the world.

We are the same nationality and we are friends too. For that reason I didn’t want to get Barcelona in the draw but sometimes fate plays a part and there’s nothing you can do.

"

It's almost unfathomable that any part of the Blaugrana's MSN forward trio might leave the Camp Nou, having won a European and domestic treble in 2015 before clinching two more major trophies last season.

City still had a busy summer with the likes of John Stones, Ilkay Gundogan, Nolito and Leroy Sane arriving at the Etihad, and the Manchester Evening News (h/t AS) reported there could be an even more prodigious starlet, three-year-old Jaxon Lal, on his way:

While one can't help but admire Guardiola's prospects and desire to recruit the best the sport has to offer, there seems to be little chance he'll have a chance at tempting any of Barca's star quartet in the near future.

The likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar tend to grab the major plaudits in Catalonia, but Yahoo's Andrew Gaffney identified Busquets as a similarly unique talent for Barcelona boss Luis Enrique:

Mundo Deportivo (h/t Lucas Sposito of Sport Witness) also mentioned there was an attempt from City to bring Barca doctor Ricard Pruna to the Premier League outfit, but those advances were also unsuccessful.

Guardiola may therefore be forced to build his City empire around completely new assets, with his old club proving to be of little help when it comes to renovating his Citizens squad.