ETIHAD MESSI HOPE

EXCLUSIVE

MANCHESTER CITY believe they are in pole position to sign Lionel Messi if the Argentine quits Barcelona in the aftermath of the club’s Champions League humiliation.

The Blues would pay Messi whatever it takes to lure him to the Etihad and reunite him with Pep Guardiola.

And City’s stance on the 32-year-old remains steadfast that they will be at the front of the queue if the six-time Ballon d’Or winner decides to seek a new challenge. Barcelona are in crisis after a season in which they surrendered the La Liga title to bitter rivals Real Madrid was ended ignominiously by an 8-2 Champions League demolition by Bayern Munich.

Messi left the pitch in Lisbon looking like a broken man (left) after a year spent battling Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the Nou Camp hierarchy on the direction the club is going. The clause in his