Manchester City and the Messi transfer rumours of 2015

Is it possible? The most reasonable answer is that money talks. Manchester City were reported to be preparing the biggest transfer in football history. According to the British tabloid The Sun, The Citizens would do everything possible to convince Barcelona star Lionel Messi to swap his beloved club for Man City. To that end, City’s owner was said to be ready to make a mind-boggling offer of £800k per week to the Argentinian magician, which with bonuses could reach nearly £40 million a year. Messi’s representatives had reportedly already met City’s chiefs and heard the English club’s proposal, and the first reaction from Messi’s camp was said to be positive.

At the time, 28-year-old Messi earned about £500k a week at Barcelona. Manchester City had another ace up their sleeve in their attempt to persuade Leo to make the big step: the possible appointment of Josep Guardiola, who could leave Bayern Munich and take over at Manchester City.

The fee Barcelona would demand for their best player could not be ignored either. The release clause in Messi’s contract stood at £250m, but Manchester City had reportedly decided to open their offensive with a proposal of £120m.

Until then, Kevin De Bruyne was Manchester City’s most expensive signing, at a fee of around £54-58m. The Belgian international was the most expensive player ever bought by an English club. The world transfer record at that moment was Gareth Bale’s move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid. The Welsh international cost £85.3m, about £5m more than the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo.

In contrast to these colossal sums stands the cheapest transfer of the modern era, free transfers aside. Tony Cascarino’s name may not ring a bell for everyone. Crockenhill sold their young striker Cascarino to Gillingham in 1981 for only £180. Ironically, he went on to score 78 goals in 219 games and six years later was sold to Millwall for about £200k. Cascarino even became an Irish international in 1985 and scored 19 goals in 88 matches for his country. The lesson for Man City’s bosses was clear: give the club’s youngsters a chance, because the next Messi could be among them.

If Manchester City bought Leo Messi, football would remain an inflated financial bubble, one that is bound to burst some day. It is not normal for a player to cost £250m and earn £40m a year. That is also why the England national team seemed unlikely to win a major trophy soon: managers were not giving young English talent a chance and were buying million-pound players instead.

What happened next

Part of the report proved accurate. On 1 February 2016 Manchester City confirmed that Pep Guardiola would become their head coach for the 2016/17 season on a three-year contract, succeeding Manuel Pellegrini. Guardiola had announced in December 2015 that he would leave Bayern Munich at the end of that campaign. The move to bring Messi with him never materialised, however. Under Guardiola, City won the 2017/18 Premier League with 100 points, the first time any side had reached that total in the competition, and finished 19 points clear of Manchester United.

The world transfer record changed hands twice in the following two summers without Messi being involved. Manchester United paid Juventus a reported £89m for Paul Pogba in August 2016, and in August 2017 Paris Saint-Germain triggered Neymar's €222m release clause at Barcelona, more than doubling the previous record.

How Messi's Barcelona career ended

Messi stayed at Barcelona for almost six more years. When his contract expired on 1 July 2021, the club was unable to register a new deal within La Liga's salary limits, and on 5 August 2021 Barcelona announced that he would leave because of financial and structural obstacles. He signed a two-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain rather than joining Manchester City. Barcelona's official records list 672 goals in 778 appearances and 35 trophies for Messi, including ten Spanish league titles and four Champions League titles. After two seasons in Paris he moved to Inter Miami in Major League Soccer in July 2023.