Premier League leaders still keen on Barcelona legend but will wait to sound out free transfer in summer window

Lionel Messi’s future has been one of the biggest talking points in football since last summer, and that does not appear to have changed as we enter the second half of the 2020/21 season.

Messi wanted to quit Barcelona last year, but was unable to trigger a clause in his contract which would have allowed him to leave, so instead remained at Camp Nou for one final campaign.

His contract in Catalonia expires at the end of June, and Messi is finally set to depart Barcelona shortly after his 34th birthday unless the LaLiga giants can somehow convince him to sign a new deal.

While every club in the world would be keen on bringing in Messi, he has a huge contract and is likely only a realistic signing for a handful of the biggest teams.

Paris Saint-Germain are known admirers of Messi, while Man City were planning to sign him last summer before the Argentina forward committed himself to Barca for a further year.

And it appears these two teams will again go head-to-head for Messi once this season ends, with PSG publicly flirting with the legendary attacker.

City, meanwhile, have remained relatively quiet on the subject – but this is all part of their plan to sign Messi, ESPN report.

It is claimed City are still monitoring the situation at Camp Nou, but will wait until March or April before formalising their interest by ‘sounding out the situation’.

This approach by the Etihad club, which is very different from PSG’s public admissions of interest, appears to be the wiser transfer plan.

“PSG are making a mistake with the strategy they’re using,” a Barca source told ESPN. “Leo doesn’t like all that noise in the media and even less the type of comments [which have been made].”

Should Messi head to Man City this summer, he will reunite with his former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola at the Etihad.

And last November, after Guardiola signed a new two-year contract with the club, former City ace Trevor Sinclair admitted Messi linking up with Pep in Manchester is ‘inevitable’.

“I think Messi is inevitable,” Sinclair told talkSPORT.

“I can’t see it any other way,” replied Sinclair. “He is too young to go back to Argentina, and I don’t think there is any other club where they have the right manager in place where Messi would go in and feel comfortable under that manager.

“I feel it is inevitable it is going to happen… and I can’t wait for it to happen!”