Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola Transfer Rumours Increased by Manchester City Deal

Lionel Messi, Pep Guardiola Transfer Rumours Increased by Manchester City Deal
Manchester City will promise Pep Guardiola an unprecedented war-chest of money to spend on new players if he joins the Sky Blues next season, affording him the chance to tempt Lionel Messi to the Premier League.
David Anderson of the Mirror reported owner Sheikh Mansour's sale of 13 per cent of the club's parent company, City Football Group, to Chinese investors "will go towards players."


The £265 million generated by the surprise deal will be ring-fenced to invest back into the squad, allowing Guardiola to bid for Messi if he arrives from Bayern Munich. City have already recorded their revenue for this year, and this is expected to inflate next year when the Premier League's latest TV deal kicks in, per Anderson. A spokesman for the Sky Blues reassured fans the owner has no intention of ending his association with the club, despite selling a stake in the business, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News' James Robson (h/t the Mirror): “This is really significant for our supporters—this is not the beginning of the end. We have not gone out looking for investors. There has been interest before and we’ve not gone down that route. This is a strategic move.”
City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak also backed the deal, and said, per Robson: Guardiola has been a raging success at Bayern after his years with Barcelona, and the Germans will not want to lose a coach widely regarded as one of the best in Europe. 
The Spaniard has maintained his club's untouchable standing in the Bundesliga, as Bayern mimic the typical principles of the Blaugrana's philosophy. 
Der FCB attacker Arjen Robben has proclaimed the club must try to hold onto Guardiola, despite the manager's contract expiring at the end of the season, as reported by Joe Strange of the MailOnline: "We have one of the best coaches in the world. As many of our players have said, we all want him to stay. It is a lot of fun working with him. Tactically he is maybe the best. And I don't say that just because he is our coach at the moment."
Strange added Guardiola would prefer to join Manchester United if he departs the Allianz Arena, but there is no doubt City have the financial power to tempt the coach to the Etihad Stadium, especially after the news of the recent investment deal. 
Bleacher Report's Dean Jones understands there is substance behind the rumours linking Guardiola and Messi joining City

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Neymar's right: Ronaldo should not be on Ballon d'Or shortlist

Image
 The Portuguese was named along with Lionel Messi and the Brazil forward in the final three to win the prestigious prize, but Luis Suarez can consider himself unlucky to miss out. " Lionel Messi and I are here in Zurich every year," said Cristiano Ronaldo  at the 2015 Ballon d'Or ceremony. And the world's two most famous footballers will be back in Switzerland again to dispute the individual award next January. This time, however, the Portuguese is very fortunate to be named among the final three contenders. The shortlist of three was revealed on Monday and Ronaldo was included alongside heavy favourite Messi and his team-mate Neymar, the Brazilian saying on the eve of the announcement that he believed Barcelona should complete a clean sweep after last season's treble triumph. "I think I do deserve to be [among the finalists] for what I'm doing," he said. "I would be happy if the trident [Messi, Suarez, Neymar] were all in the th
Read more

Chelsea take 'crisis' to a new level

Image
A quarter of the way into this Premier League season, Chelsea have unwillingly advanced the concept of the "bad patch". From their lofty perch of the last decade, they have witnessed plenty of minor wobbles and stumbles. It became more than a mere "blip" -- universally understood to be an anomaly of form that last no longer than three or four games -- when Crystal Palace snatched three points from Stamford Bridge at the end of August. After the blip comes the indeterminate period of the "crisis" -- a term that has long lost its significance in the Premier League era -- but crises are rarely terminal, and a corner is usually turned. So how can we describe Chelsea's dismal 2015/16? From the platform of a comprehensive (if not hugely memorable) title-winning year, they have delivered the capitulation to end all capitulations. Having redefined the art of winning in his first spell as manager, Jose Mourinho has now overseen a painful exhibition in h
Read more

Perez denies Madrid plans to sell Ronaldo

Image
The Merengue supremo assured that his club were not thinking about off-loading the goalscorer, while reacting angrily to reports he had already met with the PSG president Speaking at press conference at which the Real Madrid president gave his full backing to under-fire coach Rafa Benitez, Florentino Perez has denied the club are looking to sell Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer transfer window. The Portuguese star has been continually linked with a move to PSG and a return to the Premier League at the end of the season, but the Blancos supremo moved to quash the rumours. "Those who say I want to sell Cristiano do so in an attempt to destabilise [my position]," the 68-year-old told the press. "It annoys me that journalists said I have been attending any lunch meetings to discuss Ronaldo's sale. "I have never dined with Paris Saint-Germain's president or [Ronaldo's agent] Jorge Mendes to sell Ronaldo. "Those who think I would meet with the p
Read more