Manchester City ready to offer £120m for Lionel Messi in £800,000-a-week deal

Manchester City are getting serious about signing Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, according to reports.

The Etihad hierarchy are ready to break to bank to land Messi in a deal which could net him £40m a year. Although the 28-year-old Argentine has a £250m release clause in his contract, The Sun report that Barcelona could let him go for just £120m. The paper claims Messi's representatives say the forward is open to a switch to City and initial talks have been held over a potential deal which would see him paid an eye-watering £800,000 a week. The four-time Ballon D'Or winner's current £500,000-a-week contract runs out in 2018, but City believe he could be tempted to come to the Premier League with a record-breaking package. With Luis Suarez and Neymar in fine form and Messi still mired in Spanish tax fraud allegations, his time could be coming to an end at the Nou Camp.