Manchester City believe they have good chance of signing Lionel Messi

The only question is if Messi leaves Barca on a free transfer.

Man City believe they have a chance of signing Lionel Messi as the Argentine wants to leave Barcelona this summer, highly reliable Fabrizio Romano and Sid Lowe report in The Guardian.

Still, the 33-year-old's move to the Citizens may depend on a legal battle between him and the Catalans.

A clause in Messi's contract with Barca allows him to leave for nothing at the end of each season.

The thing is that the deadline for Leo's departure expired on June 10 while his camp believe it's valid until August 31 due to the all the coronavirus-related postponements this term.

City will not be able to meet Messi's €700m buy-out clause but Barcelona could realistically drop the price if they fail to convince their captain to stay.

Paris Saint-Germain are also expected to join the Premier League giants in the race for the 33-year-old.