Bolton’s ‘shovel-ready’ bids miss out on government cash as Manchester wins half of £54m pot

straight to your inbox Eric Garcia said, with a smile, that Manchester City players have not discussed the prospect of Lionel Messi completing a sensational move to the Premier League side but that he would be a welcome addition to any team.

straight to your inboxHere are the Manchester City morning headlines for Tuesday, September 1.Argentina’s president Alberto Fernandez has called for Lionel Messi to turn down a lucrative move to Manchester City and return to Newell’s Old Boys. Messi was absent from Barcelona training on Tuesday as the six-time Ballon d’Or winner continues to battle for his departure from the club. Messi has informed Barcelona of his desire to break his contract although the club remain determined to retain the

straight to your inboxGood evening, Manchester City fans. Here are your evening headlines for Monday, August 31.

straight to your inboxThe president of Argentina, Alberto Fernandez, has urged Lionel Messi to reject a potential move to Manchester City in favour of joining Newell's Old Boys.Messi failed to report for coronavirus testing at Barcelona's training complex yesterday as he continues his battle to leave the club.The Argentine’s decision not to attend means he will be unable to participate in Ronald Koeman's first training session today.Messi has told the Barcelona hierarchy last week that he wants

straight to your inbox Barcelona presidential candidate Toni Freixa expects Lionel Messi to join Manchester City in a move that he thinks could be liberating for the Catalan club. Messi is currently involved in a standoff with the club he has played at for his entire career, with the 33-year-old having failed to show up for pre-season as he attempts to leave the Nou Camp.

GoFundMe page reads: 'We VfB fans are collecting money to pay for Lionel Messi's transfer.'In the event that the planned amount is not reached on time or Lionel Messi joins another club, 100 per cent of the money raised will be donated to Viva con Agua.'After seeing the fundraising effort, one Twitter user wrote: 'This is the best thing I’ve seen all day,' while another added: 'Now this legendary.'Manchester City emerged as the favourites to seal Messi's signature after the star told

straight to your inboxHere are the Manchester City evening headlines for Sunday August 30.La Liga have dealt a blow to Manchester City’s hopes of signing Lionel Messi – by suggesting that any club wanting to secure his services may have to pay a £632million release clause fee to Barcelona.The Argentinian’s legal team insist that his contract allows him to leave for free if he asks to move within a certain time frame, while the club say that the date has already passed and so he will not be

straight to your inboxHow do you replace arguably the greatest player that has ever lived?That is the question that Barcelona could face this summer after Lionel Messi dropped the bombshell of the year by announcing his desire to leave the club following their humiliating end to their league season.Some United supporters dared to dream about Messi ending up at Old Trafford, but MEN Sports understand such a deal is implausible despite repeated links from all over the world.

Manchester City are the most likely Premier League destination for Messi, who played under Pep Guardiola for four years between 2008 and 2012, with a deal to take him to Manchester United implausible. Neville still doubts Messi will actually leave Barcelona this summer but thinks a transfer to City will be the outcome if he decides to move to England.

straight to your inboxHere are your Manchester City headlines for the evening of Saturday August 29.Next 48 hours crucial for Messi’s futureThe next 48 hours could help to decide Lionel Messi’s future, reports the MEN’s Stuart Brennan.Having dropped a bombshell on Barcelona by handing in a transfer request earlier this week, Messi has now asked for an urgent meeting with the club hierarchy.

straight to your inboxHere are your Manchester City headlines for the evening of Friday August 28.Vincent Kompany speaks out on Lionel Messi transferVincent Kompany says the signing of Lionel Messi this summer could be what Manchester City need to take the next step in the Champions League.The Barcelona superstar has made clear he wants to leave the Camp Nou this summer with City interested in signing the 33-year-old.

straight to your inbox Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards would both love to see Lionel Messi in the Premier League but have questioned how much a transfer would cost Manchester City. The Barcelona star has told the club he wants to leave on a free transfer this summer .

straight to your inboxLionel Messi's tenuous links with Manchester United were inevitable as soon as he handed in his transfer request at Barcelona.United remain one of the most powerful clubs in world football and when the very best players become available it will naturally pique the interest of the Old Trafford high-ups.It almost goes without saying, but United are quite obviously admirers of Messi.

straight to your inboxManchester United fans would rather see the club sign Jadon Sancho than Lionel Messi this summer.The biggest transfer in recent football history could be on the cards this summer after Messi shocked the world by informing Barcelona that he wants to leave the club on Tuesday.Messi's decision came just 11 days after Barca's embarrassing exit from the Champions League after they were beaten 8-2 by Bayern Munich and it has sparked speculation that he could make an unlikely

straight to your inboxManchester United fans have urged the club to make a move for Cristiano Ronaldo if Lionel Messi ends up joining rivals Manchester City this summer.The Barcelona superstar handed in a transfer request on Tuesday and aims to leave the club on a free transfer thanks to a clause in his contract.

straight to your inboxManchester United have opened talks with Lionel Messi's representatives over a switch to Old Trafford - according to reports in Spain.The Argentine superstar dropped a bombshell on Tuesday by submitting a transfer request to Barcelona and wants to exercise a clause in his contract that would allow him to leave the club for free.Barcelona believe that clause expired in June but Messi believes it was automatically moved after the 2019/20 campaign was extended into August as a

straight to your inboxHere are your Manchester City evening headlines for Wednesday, August 26.Barcelona sporting director Ramon Planes has outlined that the club are doing everything they can to keep Lionel Messi at the club amid rumours of a move to Manchester City.City are believed to be the front-runners to sign the 33-year-old after he informed the club on Tuesday that he wants to leave.Speaking earlier today, Planes stated that the Catalan giants want to ensure his long-term future at the

Messi has officially told Barcelona that he wishes to leave the club.“Announce Messi” immediately started trending on Twitter, as fans from pretty much every club in the world started getting their hopes up.But while we’d all like to see arguably the greatest player of all time play for the team we support, the cold hard finances of it all mean that it’s not going to happen for most of us.Only the richest of the rich, the one per cent of the one per cent can realistically afford Messi.