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Rumors swirl of record offer from Manchester City for Lionel Messi
Apparently Manchester City are trying to reunite Lionel Messi and Pep Guardiola next season, and they’re willing to spend a ton of money to do it.
Michael Regan/Getty Images
It seems like every few months we get a new batch of Lionel Messi transfer rumors to laugh about and dismiss without further thought, but this time there might be something to actually think about. There's been talk for a year that Messi might want to leave Barcelona soon to get a new challenge, and Manchester City might be the ones to give him that challenge next summer -- for a whopping £120 million transfer fee and over £750,000 per week in wages.
That is a ton of money, and would completely shatter the current records for both transfer fee and wages. What's more, Manchester City don't want to make Messi their only big summer signing, because apparently they want to hire Pep Guardiola once his contract at Bayern Munich is up this summer. Getting one of Messi or Guardiola would be a huge coup for City, but getting both? That's just not fair.
For most clubs, talking about them spending the money involved, even with the “well, it is Messi” exception that some clubs might consider making for such an expenditure in mind, just isn’t realistic. Manchester City, on the other hand, are one of the richest clubs around, and could easily spend that kind of money. How they would make it work with Financial Fair Play, on the other hand, will be much trickier to figure out.
Will this rumor turn true? Probably not, no. But it’s fun to think about.
Goal of the day
In the news
Mathieu Valbuena has spoken publicly for the first time about the blackmail scandal he was a victim of, and he feels disappointed in and betrayed by his one-time friend Karim Benzema. (Guardian)
Paris Saint-Germain officials have promised “exceptional security” for their first home match in the wake of the terrorist attacks on Paris two weeks ago. (BBS)
Jurgen Klopp says that Daniel Sturridge needs to learn the difference between just being in pain and actually being injured. (ESPN FC)
Paul Pogba’s agent declared that his client isn’t leaving Juventus in January, but wouldn’t commit to him staying past this season. (Football Italia)
Louis Van Gaal isn’t terribly worried about Manchester United’s struggles in front of goal. (Sky Sports)
Bayer Leverkusen captain Lars Bender is out until 2016 after undergoing ankle surgery. (bundesliga.de)
You should be reading
Richard Williams looks at how much harder it is for a youth player to become a star in modern football. (Guardian)
Jon Brewin examines how Manchester City can improve their wildly inconsistent season. (ESPN FC)
Jamie Vardy has scored in 10 straight matches, but Sky Sports has some ideas on how Manchester United can stop him this weekend. (Sky Sports)
What happened in Thursday’s matches
Napoli won their group, Liverpool, Tottenham, Schalke, Lazio, Villarreal, and Athletic Bilbao all secured spots in the knockout rounds in their Europa League matches. (UEFA.com)
What to watch on Friday (click for listings, all times ET)
La Liga: Levante vs. Real Betis (2:30 p.m.): Levante are stuck in the relegation zone, but are hoping a win at home can pull them out of their doldrums. Real Betis have been a tough team to beat this season, though, and won’t go down without a fight.
Bundesliga: Darmstadt 98 vs. Köln (2:30 p.m.): Köln are one of six teams within five points of third place, and a win against Darmstadt would go a long ways towards cementing them as a threat for the upper reaches of the table. Darmstadt aren’t too far behind in that race themselves, though, and they’d love a win just to get them a little further away from the relegation zone.
Ligue 1: Olympique Lyon vs. Montpellier (2:30 p.m.): While Lyon’s Champions League campaign has been a bitter disappointment, they’re still in second place in the league, albeit 13 points behind first-place Paris Saint-Germain. They need a win in a bad way to try and start separation from the five teams within three points of them right now, and who better to get that win over than a Montpellier side that’s just one point above the relegation zone?
Championship: Hull City vs. Derby County (2:45 p.m.): This is a battle for first place in the Championship, with Hull holding a two-point edge on Derby. Both teams are in excellent form, with four wins in their last five matches, with Hull drawing that fifth match while Derby lost theirs.
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