Reports | Manchester City considering finances behind Lionel Messi deal

With less than a year left on his current deal with the club, Barcelona legend Lionel Messi is reportedly on the verge of leaving the club he’s spent his career at. The Argentine has won practically everything he can with the La Liga giants while breaking and creating a few records along the way. But with the club struggling to transition from one era to another, the 33-year-old is now considering his future and it could see him leave.

That has seen him linked with moves to Manchester City and Inter Milan but ESPN has reported that the Cityzens are already looking into the finances over a potential deal. The report has indicated that Messi’s salary combined with any potential fee make the deal very expensive and City are crunching the numbers to try and get the deal without breaching FFP rules. Not only that, ESPN has reported over the last few weeks that Barcelona are considering letting him go despite openly saying that they are not open to a deal.

That does complicate any move for the diminutive Argentine especially but with only one year left on his current contract with Barcelona, Manchester City are looking at a January deal. That would allow them to sign Messi for free while only paying a minimum fee to Barcelona in the process.