Messi's father has been talking with City's ex-Barca chiefs with Argentine set to become a free agent in a year's time
LIONEL MESSI’S dad has spoken to Manchester City about his son making a sensational move to the Etihad.
Jorge Messi met City director of football Txiki Begiristain, who was at Barcelona until 2012, about Leo’s future.
The ace is yet to sign a new deal and is set to become a free agent next summer
Sources have told SunSport the duo spoke about the possibility of Messi, 30, joining City.
But any deal would be difficult and have to wait until at least next summer. Messi Jr is stalling on an extension, agreed in July, to stay at Barca until 2021.
His current deal expires at the end of this season, meaning someone could sign the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for NOTHING
Barca remain confident Messi will sign when the club has brought in replacements — following Neymar’s £198million move to Paris Saint-Germain
That would leave any potential suitor having to pay a buyout clause said to be worth £263m. But Messi is clearly considering his options.
City is a natural choice, given his relationship with Begiristain and City chief executive Ferran Soriano — another ex-Barca man. The Etihad club deny any offer but are hardly discouraging speculation.
Manchester City's parent company buys major share in La Liga club Girona FC
Manchester City's parent company have bought a major share in promoted Spanish Liga side Girona, it was announced on Wednesday.
The 44.3 percent stake purchased by the City Football Group matches the share in the Catalan club held by the Girona Football Group, a company owned by Pere Guardiola, the brother of Pep Guardiola who is the coach of the Premier League giants.
"City Football Group and Girona Football Group are the majority shareholders, and the new owners have set themselves the objective of maintaining, consolidating and expanding Girona to permanently establish itself in La Liga," said a statement.
The value of the agreement was not disclosed but Spanish media claimed the club's new shareholders bought the stake previously owned by French company TVSE Futbol.
The new agreement, which has already received the green light of the Spanish Sports Ministry, allows Girona to loan five players from Manchester City this season.
Manchester City defender Benjamin Mendy hit with £60 fine for parking his £250,000 Ferrari in a taxi rank as left back gets to grips with his new city
Benjamin Mendy illegally parked his Ferrari partially in a taxi rank in Manchester
After an hour, a parking warden gave the Man City player a parking ticket for £60
Mendy eventually moved his car - with an illegal manoeuvre - and paid for a spot
Benjamin Mendy is yet to show what he can do on the pitch for new club Manchester City yet, and he seems to be struggling to get to grips with life in England off it too.
The £52million left back, currently out with a thigh strain, was hit with a parking fine in the city centre on Tuesday afternoon
Mendy illegally parked his £250,000 super car partially in a taxi rank, and was given a parking ticket for his trouble.
Mendy, City's latest signing from Monaco and one of three full backs acquired for major fees this summer, left the Ferrari F12 F2X illegally outside The Radisson Blu Edwardian Hotel.
Mendy went in to the hotel, where he is currently staying following his switch from Ligue 1, and left his car partly in the rank for over an hour.
Eventually this was spotted by the traffic wardens, who gave the car a £60 parking ticket, an unpleasant surprise for Mendy when he returned, clutching a bag of food from Nando's.
.The France international did move his car after being fined - albeit by reversing the car the wrong way down the one way street outside the hotel.
He then parked the car legally in a parking bay, where he paid a rather steep £6 for a ticket for the black sports car.
City fans will hope Mendy shows better awareness when he finally makes his competitive debut for the club following his injury.
Mendy is expected to be fit to return to action in time for their lunchtime kick off away to Bournemouth on August 26.
Manchester City have made a €20million (£18.4million) bid to sign former Spain under-19 left-back Aarón Martín from Espanyol, SPORT is reporting this evening.
The 20-year-old is a modern day full-back, able to get up and down the pitch, contributing defensively and joining the attack. Several teams have shown interest in him and Real Madrid tried to sign him several years ago, unsuccessfully.
City have been following Aarón’s progress for months and with only three natural full-backs in the squad, are looking for a fourth without breaking the bank. Benjamin Mendy, who has yet to make his City debut, is the only specialist left-back in the squad, meaning Leroy Sané has had to play as a left wing-back.
Sané has not been effective in this role and Pep Guardiola has asked for one more, leading to City making a concrete approach for Aarón Martín. He would be immediately placed in the first-team squad as a deputy for Mendy, and would not be loaned out.
Espanyol have not planned to sell any of their defenders, but the sale of Aarón would allow coach Quique Sánchez Flores to buy players in several positions he wants to strengthen, including midfield.
Aarón has a €30million release clause which will rise to €40million on June 30, 2018. Man City have offered €20million, less than his clause, and talks are ongoing.
Tottenham Hotspur are interested in signing youngster Jadon Sancho from Premier League rivals Manchester City, according to The Mirror’s live transfer blog.The winger is rumoured to be unsettled at the Etihad Stadium and Spurs are prepared to make a £3 million bid to land him before the window closes at the end of August.
Mangala is getting closer to Inter as Man City have opened the way to a loan and the deal could be closed in the next 24/48 hours.
Staying on defense, Inter have also got Bastoni, 18 year-old from Atalanta who will stay there for two more years and got to Milano's Nerazzurri for a €8/10m fee plus bonuses.
Rangers have announced the loan signing of Manchester City winger Aaron Nemane until January.
The 19-year-old, born in France but raised in Manchester, made his debut for City's Under-14s in the 2012-13 season.
In his five years at the Etihad Stadium, Nemane has made 54 appearances ranging through the Under-18, Under-19 and Under-23 squads.
Nemane is the first arrival at Ibrox overseen by Mark Allen, who joined as director of football in July from Man City.
He becomes Gers boss Pedro Caixinha's 10th summer signing
Chelsea have made a new £35m bid to sign Arsenal winger Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 24. (Daily Telegraph)
Chelsea are also preparing to make a new £32m offer for Leicester and England midfielder Danny Drinkwater, 27. (Sun)
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo could leave the La Liga club before the end of next week. (El Pais via Manchester Evening News)
Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho, 25, is considering making a public statement highlighting his discontent at the club in order to force an exit. (Yahoo sports)
Inter Milan have made a bid for to sign Arsenal defender Shkodran Mustafi, 25, on a season-long loan with a view to a permanent £20m-plus deal. (Daily Mirror)
West Ham are keeping tabs on Sunderland midfielder Didier Ndong but are yet to make a bid for the 23-year-old. (Sunderland Echo)
The Black Cats have also fallen behind Aston Villa in the battle to sign winger Robert Snodgrass, 29, from West Ham. (Northern Echo)
Former Manchester City striker Stevan Jovetic, 27, has turned down the chance to join Brighton from Inter Milan. (TalkSport)
Tottenham are preparing a new offer for Lazio forward Keita Balde Diao, 22, who has also been linked with a move to Juventus. (Corriere dello Sport via TalkSport)
Juventus and Liverpool are set to battle for Schalke defender Benedikt Howedes, 29, who has been told he is no longer first choice at the club. (Daily Mirror)
But the Germany international says has no intention of leaving Schalke this summer. (TalkSport)
Paris St-Germain are looking to sign Napoli and former Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina, 34. (AS)
Barcelona 'announced' the signing of Angel di Maria after having their social media accounts hacked. (Daily Telegraph)
Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana was snapped wearing a leg brace during Liverpool's clash with Hoffenheim on Wednesday night. (Daily Express)
The National Union of Professional Footballers has backed Paris St-Germain forward Neymar over a "spiteful" complaint against him from former club Barcelona. (ESPN FC)
Chelsea have identified former Borussia Dortmund head coach Thomas Tuchel as the man they want to succeed Antonio Conte amid reports of tension between the Italian and the Blues' hierarchy. (Bild - in German)
Barcelona will make a final £136m bid for Liverpool playmaker Philippe Coutinho, 25, as they try to break Liverpool's resolve after three rejected offers. (Sun)
Chelsea are closing in on a £30m deal for England and Leicester midfielder Danny Drinkwater, 27. The Premier League champions are also targeting Inter Milan's Italy midfielder Antonio Candreva, 30, who has been told he can leave for £25m. (Daily Mirror)
The Blues are also considering a shock bid for 30-year-old Leicester and England striker Jamie Vardy. (Daily Mirror)
England left-back Danny Rose, 27, will hold talks with Tottenham this week, amid ongoing interest from Chelsea and Manchester United. (Independent)
GOLDEN BOLLOX - On this day 2012
Nastasic and Richards poised for City exits
Blues pair are being chased by clubs in Italy and England respectively, and Manuel Pellegrini is ready to sell both to slim down his squad.
At least three Italian clubs are now showing a string interest in taking Blues defender Matija Nastasic, with Juventus and Roma leading the pack.
Napoli are also interested but appear to want a loan, whilst City want to sell the £12million rated defender, or at least send him on loan with a permanent deal at the end of it.
Roma look likely to lose Mehdi Benatia to Bayern Munich, and that will give them the money to take Nastasic, but Juventus could also raise the cash by selling Angelo Ogbonna to one of several suitors.
Manchester CityTransfer Policy - Vincent Kompany
Manchester City captain and Belgium international Vincent Kompany has complemented the club’s board for not making major signings over the summer transfer window.
This comes as a surprise to many around the Premier League, due to City’s recent record of spending big over recent transfer windows.
One of the most important things for Kompany is that the club keep the team as consistent as possible. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the Belgian said, “It is one thing to make new signings but it is another to make sure we have a core of players who know the league and have enjoyed success in the league – then we can move forward with a certain style and philosophy that has been successful for us.”
He continued, “For me it is important to see quality, new players coming but it is as important to see players like David Silva and Kolarov and Nasri remaining at the club.”
City manager Manuel Pellegrini knows that in order to defend their title from the previous season, The Citizens need to have a consistent line-up that knows how to compete in the Premier League first hand.
Another key take-away from Kompany’s confidence in City’s transfer policy this summer is the change of heart in how the club wants to handle its players. While many other teams in the league are making headlines by purchasing star players, City want to rely more on their younger players rising up the ranks of their academy system; while also keeping its’ more experienced players on board to help future players of the club.
An example of this can be seen with Eden Dzeko signing a new five-year deal with the club, as reported by Touchline Talk. With an experienced player like Dzeko staying with The Sky Blues, he can create an influence on an up-and-coming player in his position, and teach the “City way” of playing the game.
How Manuel Pellegrini Can Guide Manchester City to a Repeat Title Win
The surest path to a repeat Premier League title win for Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini is a road he cannot take.
Pellegrini would make his club's load a lot lighter by laying down in the Capital One Cup and in the FA Cup. Getting out of these peripheral competitions as soon as possible would be the best thing for City's Premier League (and Champions League) hopes.
City's second team is probably good enough to get to the semifinals of both of those lesser cup tournaments, which is a big problem.
City played six matches in the Capital One Cup en route to winning it. They played five matches in the FA Cup before getting unceremoniously dumped out of the competition by Wigan Athletic at the Etihad.
Winning the Capital One Cup was better than losing it once City got themselves so far into that draw. But let's be clear: Had City only won the Capital One Cup and not held on to win the league title, the 2013-14 season would have been viewed as an abject failure. That's how much the Capital One Cup really means.
If City's Capital One Cup exertions were a nuisance, at least they paid off. City's FA Cup efforts were in vain, and in retrospect taxed the squad unnecessarily.
Possibly City's worst result of the 2013-14 season was the draw at Blackburn Rovers in the FA Cup's third round.
Even the match report from City's website tacitly said so: "The Blues, who ended the game with ten men following Dedryck Boyata’s sending off, are now facing a fixture pile-up after failing to put their Championship opponents to the sword at Ewood Park."
They certainly were. City ended up playing seven matches in three weeks from Jan. 8 through Jan. 29 after seeing the Blackburn replay plugged into an already cluttered schedule.
Playing Chelsea twice per season is bad enough. A third encounter with Mourinho's club is just inadvisable.
Further underscoring the detriment that last season's futile FA Cup run served for City was their match with Chelsea in the tournament's round of 16. City had just lost to the Blues in league play 12 days earlier, and could ill afford to lose a second straight match to Jose Mourinho's side at the Etihad.
So Pellegrini had to manage this match as though it really mattered. Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure and Pablo Zabaleta played the entire match. Edin Dzeko ran for 81 minutes. David Silva left after 69 minutes.
This was tread taken off these players' tires needlessly with City playing the first leg of their Champions League tie with Barcelona three days later.
City played 57 competitive matches in the 2013-14 season. No matter how deep a team is, playing to win 57 times will deplete it mercilessly. Sometimes it will even happen stupidly, as Alvaro Negredo's injury against West Ham United in a Capital One Cup tie that was already pretty well decided attests.
And it is not just the toll these unimportant competitions take on the players. Pellegrini and his coaching staff have to divert the resources of time and energy toward match planning.
When the draw calls for City to travel, they have to go to places like Blackburn and Leicester City to play a match that the home side and its supporters are far more "up for" than City could ever be.
We can agree that what is suggested here will never actually happen.
City's management doubtlessly believe that, even with the added matches on the schedule and the resultant inconveniences that come with them, the Sky Blues are deep enough and resilient enough to deal with all of it.
But one of these seasons, it would be interesting to see City mysteriously fall out of both the Capital One Cup and the FA Cup early.
Think of the advantage City would have over the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool as those clubs continue to put players at risk of injury and continue to tack on additional fixtures to already loaded schedules. Nothing bad can happen to City's best players in a match they do not have to play.
No, it will not happen this way. But isn't it pretty to think so?
