Revealed: Manchester City are not going to bid for Lionel Messi in January

Semra Hunter says Man City aren't going to sign Messi because of the player's age and salary.

The presenter bases her claim on information she's got from someone close to City.

Hunter also adds that Leo is no longer the player he once was.

"I have it on good authority from someone close to the situation that Manchester City are not going to bid for Lionel Messi," La Liga TV presenter Semra Hunter has told Sky Sports News. "Based on the information I have, as of today, that door is closed.

"They have their reasons for this. They have two reasons for this: age and finances. Talking about age, he is heading into the twilight years of his career and you'll be bringing on board a Messi that is different to what we've seen for the last 17 years with Barcelona. 

Even he himself has said that he is getting closer to the dreaded r-word of retirement more so than anyone cares to admit.

"That goes hand-in-hand with finances because even though he would be able to join for free, his wages are astronomically high - he is earning about 100m euros-a-year. That would be a huge financial burden for any club to take on, especially given the fact that we are in the middle of a global pandemic."

Unfortunately, we can't say exactly how reliable of a source Semra Hunter is. We encourage you to take this report with a grain of salt at least until a more reliable outlet confirms it.

What we do know is that Messi's contract with Barcelona expires next summer, meaning that he'll be free to sign a pre-contract with a new club in January. 

According to an earlier report from The Telegraph, Man City are willing to make a move for the Argentine.