Manchester City’s hopes of signing Lionel Messi have been dealt a blow, with the MLS phenom unlikely to leave Inter Miami anytime soon.
According to Football Insider, Manchester City may not be able to sign Lionel Messi now or in the near future, with the MLS phenom planning on sticking with Inter Miami. The former Barcelona great is ready to end his career at the club, which may have seemingly quashed rumours of a reunion with Pep Guardiola.
Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi created wonders during their time together at Barcelona, which coincided with the club’s greatest period of success. Since then, the two have had different pathways, with the former becoming one of the best managers around, while Messi’s legacy only grew and is widely regarded as the greatest player of all time.
While Messi was expected to finish his career with Barcelona, an unexpected turn of events back in 2020 ensured he did not get a new contract and swiftly moved to PSG. After spending two seasons in France, the Argentine great joined MLS side Inter Miami.
He has been a rousing success there and helped the team to their first-ever MLS Cup triumph against the Vancouver Whitecaps recently. He also signed a new deal there until 2028 and owns a minority stake in the club. Despite the World Cup being on the horizon and no game action in the MLS, given that the season in the US has ended, speculation around his immediate future has been rife amid links to Manchester City.
Guardiola had seemingly hoped to reunite with the MLS phenom to help Manchester City in their fledgling Premier League title race. However, Messi plans on finishing his career with Inter Miami, with the wider expectations leaning towards him joining the club’s boardroom after hanging up his boots at some stage.
Manchester City’s January plans?
While Manchester City find themselves seven points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League title race, they have done some stellar business in January. First, they addressed their attacking deficiencies and signed Antoine Semenyo from Bournemouth by paying his £65 million release clause.
They have since signed Marc Guehi amid an injury crisis, as Manchester City may be ready for a big push towards the title in the second part of the season. There might be a few more ideas hovering around in the background, although at the moment they are not looking to sign another player before the winter window shuts, and certainly not Messi.
