How close did Man City come to signing Messi?

“He had gone as far as having English lessons.”

Spanish football expert Guillem Balague has revealed just how close Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola came to convincing Argentina World Cup winner Lionel Messi to joining him in the Premier League.

“About one-and-a-half/two years ago, there was a four-hour meeting between Pep and Messi at Messi’s house,” Balague explained to BBC Radio Manchester. “Pep told him how he was going to use him and City had all the finances ready to take him.

“It was around the time when he had told Barcelona he was ready to leave although he did not want to.

“He decided to stay put because he thought things would change and when he found out they were not actually going to renew his contract, it was too late.

“City had already signed Jack Grealish and so Messi went to PSG instead.”