Blues working out how to pay for their biggest signing ever

CITY could piece together a deal for Lionel Messi without running the risk of another tangle with Uefa’s financial fair play rules.

But the Blues might need to turn to existing sponsors and partners to buy into the Argentina ace’s brand to finance any transfer fee and the player’s wage demands.

Messi’s camp are adamant he should be allowed to leave on a free transfer in the spirit of a release clause in his contract which allowed him to do just that - as long as he informed Barcelona by June 10.

The player’s legal team are arguing that the unexpected extension of the season due to the pandemic lockdown means the expiry date of that clause should also be put back.

Spanish legal experts believe Messi is on dodgy ground with that, and it could be that the player and club come to a compromise, so that the fee is considerably smaller than the £630m release price also in his contract.

With the player seemingly adamant he wants to leave the Nou Camp after 20 years, that could also suit Barca, who have run into crippling financial problems during the absence of fans from the ground.

Some reports in Spain suggest Messi will not force the issue in terms of wages, with suggestions he would want around £90m a year.

Without knowing what the transfer fee might be, and what wages Messi will accept, any discussion of how City could structure a deal is tricky.

Talk of shirt sales paying for the deal alone are wide of the mark. While the Blues would expect a significant increase in shirt sales worldwide, manufacturers PUMA would pick up most of any profit.

But the Blues would expect all kinds of financial pluses in terms of selling merchandise and in marketing advantages, especially in the tough Asian and North American markets.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told talkSPORT that City, as well as earning more prize and TV money from having such a great player, could also squeeze more money out of existing sponsors by promising them a slice of Messi.

“The additional money that City could potentially generate from winning the Champions League, the bonuses that would kick in from sponsors, would be beneficial,” he said.

“City would also be able to go to their existing corporate partners and say ‘Here’s a choice guys, we can have your noodles, or your calculators, or whatever the product is going to be, and you can have Kyle Walker for £1.5m for the sponsorship deal, or if you want Lionel we are talking £5-6m’.

“You only have to do that a few times and all of a sudden his net cost starts to look more feasible from a financial point of view.

“In terms of merchandise, I’m not necessarily convinced because a lot of the time what would happen would be that City fans, instead of getting a Raheem Sterling or Sergio Aguero shirt this season, would get one with Messi on the back.

“So you’re not actually increasing the number of shirt sales. you’re just switching who picks up the intellectual property rights in terms of the player’s name.

“There will be some fans who buy in, but I don’t think there will be enough globally to pay for the deal.

“If Lionel Messi is prepared to be flexible in terms of his wage demands, or somebody could come up with an offer whereby he does an awful lot of sponsorship work and so gets money from other sources, then you can just about make ends meet.”