Could Lionel Messi Ever Move from Barcelona to Manchester City?

It's the rumour no Barcelona supporter can even bear to contemplate: Lionel Messi to Manchester City.

In any other transfer window it could have been easily shrugged off, but Neymar's world-record £198 million move to Paris Saint-Germain has changed everything. Suddenly nothing seems impossible.

The chance of Messi ever walking away from the Camp Nou seemed slim, but when the talk of a City bid cropped up over the weekend, it had an air of familiarity about it.

The story was first touted by The Sun's Shaun Custis and Martin Lipton in 2015, then The Mirror's Simon Mullock in 2016... and now here we are again, this time from Duncan Castles of the Daily Record.

So why does the rumour continue to hang around? 

I have been talking to informed sources to grasp whether Messi really could walk back into the arms of Pep Guardiola.

City's Bid to Be the Best

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To understand Manchester City's Messi dream, we must look back to October 2012.

It is an important date in the club's history, as Txiki Begiristain arrived as the club's new director of football. It was part of a vision to build the best football team in the world.

City were already coming on leaps and bounds, but Begiristain, who had held the same position at Barcelona, began plotting for European dominance.

As he settled into the role, and City cemented their status as one of England's elite, the club's top-brass began to think about one missing element; a global poster boy.

"The owners have been desperate to land that absolute stellar player," one Man City source explained to me. "They believe that in Gabriel Jesus, they may have landed the player of the next generation—but there is also an urge to have the best player in the world right now."

Guardiola was the first piece of the puzzle. He was seen as the manager who could piece together a team of icons and lead the club towards Champions League glory.

He is also viewed as the only manager with the clout to land Messi.

Problems at Barcelona

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As one member of the MSN trident left the club this summer, it increased serious concerns over where Barcelona are heading. Bids for Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele have been knocked back over the past week and, with Neymar now gone, the team does not have such a fearful look about it.

"Losing Neymar has left Barcelona feeling exposed," explains Rik Sharma, Spanish football journalist for Diario Sport. "The club's front line now looks very weak, with Gerard Deulofeu and Paco Alcacer starting either side of Messi against Real Betis in the first game of the season. 

"They have been unable to keep one of the biggest stars in the world happy, and with Messi not yet putting pen to paper on his agreed new deal, there are worries regarding the club's diminished status. With Real Madrid winning the Champions League and La Liga double, this is a time for Barcelona to be strengthening, not weakening."

Messi verbally agreed a contract extension at the beginning of the summer but has held back on actually signing it while the club attempt to prove their ambition.

Ed Malyon, sports editor of The Independent, also senses discontent.

"The squad is unhappy with the declining calibre of signings and the effect it is having on their ability to compete," he said. "Some of those complaints have gone public, so while Barcelona would love to be able to publish pictures of Messi signing that new deal, the Argentine would rather they focused on putting good players around him who can restore Barca to being a side capable of winning the Champions League."

An Uncertain Future

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While Barca bounce from problem to problem, things are looking great over at Real Madrid. Fans are excited about the future, with Marco Asensio, Dani Ceballos and Jesus Vallejo symbols of the club's next chapter.

Their transfer policy has helped to shape the next generation, but Barcelona have not given supporters that same reassurance.

Messi has led the club through an era of greatness, and Barcelona-based journalist Rafael Hernandez of Grup 14 believes the superstar is now being affected by the negative attention the club are receiving.

"We live in the age of rampant social media and the internet. Barcelona's problems are laid bare for all the world to see and debate endlessly," he said.

"Footballers aren't that different from us—they get informed through Facebook or Twitter like most of us do.

"The Argentinian has witnessed it from the inside, how Barcelona lost its identity progressively under Luis Enrique even though trophies were still coming. But now that the squad hasn't been renewed correctly, Barca has no trophies or a distinguished style of football to show.

"You could see from Messi's expressions in the three official matches the club has played this season that things aren't well, and he's feeling it."

Have Man City Made a Bid?

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There were rumours over the weekend that a €300 million offer had been placed, but club officials at Manchester City are adamant that is not the case.

The club have been courting Messi for five years, though, just in case the chance to sign him ever cropped up.

Towards the end of 2016, they really thought that opportunity might arrive.

"Barcelona and Messi seemed quite a way apart in their contract negotiations, and there was growing hope of some light at the end of the tunnel," explained a source close to the City board. "It's fair to say there was then some disappointment among certain high-ranking members of the club when his new Barcelona agreement was announced."

With that agreement still left unsigned though, all hope is not lost.

"We have never been so close to see Messi departing Barcelona as we do today," said Hernandez.

"The incident in January 2015, in which he followed Chelsea on Instagram, was a lot more meaningful than most fans imagine. He was determined to leave the club in the summer, and thankfully Xavi's words and the treble guaranteed he'd stay for a few more years. But the cracks were starting to show.

"Later, as revealed both by Mundo Deportivo and later all but confirmed by TV3, Messi had contacted Manchester City in the summer of 2016 about moving away from Barca due to worries about his tax problems, but the club once again persuaded him to stay."

Would Messi Really Leave Barcelona?

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City do harbour an ambition to sign Messi. Messi is agitated at the way Barca have seen their power begin to wane. This could be the beginning of the end.

A deal in this transfer window is highly unlikely. Most journalists I spoke to do not expect that to happen, as the scale of the decision is so huge at such a late stage.

But if Barca fail to sign elite players and then do not win La Liga or the Champions League, we should not rule it out in the future.

"I don't think Messi would be tempted to join another club if Barca was in shape and not the institutional and sporting mess it finds itself right now," Hernandez said. "He might end up being forced to leave the club to keep winning at the top level in the final years of his career.

"Even if he does sign his new contract, we now know that in a world where transfer fees continue to rampantly increase every summer, a €300 million clause might be considered a bargain by interested clubs."

Messi to join Man City? Never say never.