Reports | Manchester City monitoring Lionel Messi’s situation at Barcelona

Arguably the greatest ever player to play for Barcelona, the Argentine could start angle for a move away in the future after his feud with Sporting Director Eric Abidal. The 32-year-old and the Frenchman have had a very public fall-out over the last few days and despite manager Quique Setien trying to avoid the topic, things have only become worse since then.

ESPN have reported that Manchester City are keeping an eye on what’s happening at Barcelona with the Cityzens amongst the many linked with a move for the Argentine. Reports in the past have indicated that Messi has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave at the end of the season for free and the Pep Guardiola's side believe that they have the best chance.

The report further added that the club believes that the presence of former Barcelona chiefs in the form Txiki Begiristain, chief executive Ferran Soriano and Guardiola himself at Manchester City helps their cause. ESPN also reported that while the reigning Premier League champions believe that Messi’s departure is very unlikely, they will nevertheless be first in line if the six-time Ballon d’Or winner was even considering leaving Spain and the Camp Nou.