What Man City boss Pep Guardiola has said about Lionel Messi transfer from Barcelona

straight to your inbox Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has taken aim at Manchester City by suggesting that only teams who don't 'respect Financial Fair Play' would be able to sign Barcelona icon Lionel Messi. Messi sent the football world into meltdown for a whirlwind two-week period after he informed Barcelona that he wanted to walk away from the club for nothing following the conclusion of the season.

straight to your inboxPep Guardiola's ego has prevented him from replicating his success at Barcelona, according to Germany legend Lothar Matthaus.Guardiola has not won the Champions League since leaving Barcelona, or even reached a final, but has won 13 domestic trophies - including five league titles - at Bayern Munich and Manchester City in eight seasons.That is not good enough for Matthaus, though, with the 1990 World Cup winner calling Guardiola 'egocentric' for his insistance on changing

straight to your inboxFor a week, there hasn't been a lot Manchester City have been able to say or do about Lionel Messi.His transfer request last Tuesday kickstarted a global circus with all roads pointing towards the Etihad, but their position hasn't significantly changed from all the other times they have been linked with him: of course they will sign him if it is possible, but they are still not certain that it is.Even if the encouragement from the events of the last week has been enough to

Lionel Messi in the Premier League. The Argentina forward has told Barcelona he wants to leave the club this summer and is yet to report for pre-season.Messi is trying to leave the Nou Camp for free although La Liga have supported Barcelona's case that any departure would have to be triggered by paying his £630million release clause.Manchester City are the favourites amongst most bookmakers to sign Messi and reunite with Pep Guardiola.

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 inbox Manchester City were given another boost in their pursuit of Lionel Messi after the forward failed to show at the Barcelona training ground for tests ahead of pre-season. Ronald Koeman and the rest of the squad were pictured arriving at the complex on Sunday morning but there was no sign of Messi at his allotted time or for an hour afterwards as the fallout between player and club continues.

straight to your inboxSome Manchester City fans believe Lionel Messi is definitely on his way to the Etihad this summer after Pep Guardiola was spotted in Barcelona on Friday.News broke earlier this week that Messi wants to call time on his Barcelona career following their disappointing end to the season, which saw them lose out to Real Madrid in the La Liga title race and also lose 8-2 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-finals.City are one of the few clubs that could realistically

straight to your inbox The initial shock of Lionel Messi ’s transfer request has subsided, and now for the grind. Manchester City were the first club on everyone’s lips the moment it became clear that the Barcelona star was not bluffing – as he has in the past – and really seems to have reached the end of his tether with the stagnation at the Nou Camp.

straight to your inbox Manchester City will NOT include Gabriel Jesus, Bernardo Silva or Riyad Mahrez in any deal to bring in Lionel Messi. The Blues could be facing a club record fee to bring in the Barcelona star, and that has led to speculation that they will proffer players as part of a package to land the 33-year-old.

straight to your inbox Lionel Messi would help Manchester City take the next step and win the Champions League, according to former captain Vincent Kompany. Kompany has claimed the pair are likely to still have a 'rapport' and said he imagines the two men have each other's number so they can still speak on the phone.

straight to your inbox Barcelona have not given up on keeping Lionel Messi despite the player’s dramatic transfer request on Tuesday. The club’s new football director Ramon Planes – who replaced Eric Abidal last week – said that they are working long hours to try to head off the crisis and persuade Messi to stay, with Manchester City seen as favourites to land him.

straight to your inbox Manchester City's hierarchy have always believed Lionel Messi would stay at Barcelona for the rest of his career... but that might have just changed.

straight to your inbox Aleks Zinchenko has defended his comments and those of his new wife Vlada Sedan about Manchester City's Champions League loss to Lyon. Pep Guardiola was heavily criticised after the 3-1 defeat in Lisbon last week, and the manager's tactics were disputed by sports presenter Sedan on her vlog as she discussed the game with Zinchenko.

straight to your inboxLionel Messi would transform Manchester City into a global brand if the Barcelona star chose to leave the Camp Nou this summer.That’s according to Gary Lineker, who believes a reunion with Pep Guardiola would be the obvious choice for the six-time Ballon d’Or winner.Messi is being linked with a move away from Barcelona following a disappointing season for the Catalan giants.They finished the season without a trophy, and were dumped out of the Champions League in humiliating