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Manuel Pellegrini is holding court at his customary Friday press conference, fielding a question about whether Manchester City should be realistic suitors of Lionel Messi.

Of course, they should is the gist of his reply.

Look over his shoulder, though, and you can see 80 acres and £200million worth of evidence that should make City capable of – sooner or later – producing their own Messi.

In the coming decades, there will be no excuses.

On Tuesday, the club will mark the first anniversary of the opening of one of football’s most remarkable facilities.

Sunday Mirror Sport was invited to spend a day looking at the progress that has been made at the Etihad campus.

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It is an astonishing project that has revitalised a community and regenerated an area of Manchester that was, not to put too fine a point on it, desolate.

But first things first.

To the wider world, the City Football Academy will be judged by the players it rears for stardom.

So far, only Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho – and he joined the Academy at the age of 17 – has made a serious breakthrough into the senior team.

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Jason Wilcox has been coaching at City for five years and is in charge of the Under-18 team. He said: “At 16, Cameron Humphreys played against Real Madrid in pre-season, Manu Garcia, who is 17, has featured and, of course, Kelechi.

(Image: David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“But it is a big challenge – for the young players and for us. There is great pressure on us, but I honestly believe we can produce players for the first-team manager.

“I would not name names, but there are some very special players in this academy now – from Under-nines level through to the Under-21s.”

And, at a training hub that verges on the futuristic, the youngsters have daily inspiration.

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“The theory behind it is ’street to stadium’,” explained City’s director of estate development Pete Bradshaw.

In pictures — Manchester City's £200million HQ:

“From the outset, you can see the next stage to aspire to every day you come in. And you can see the ultimate stage, the Etihad Stadium across the road.”

The facilities at the City Football Academy are almost too extensive to detail. But one key aspect is that, while the first-team squad has its own base, it is always centre-stage.

“The youngsters have to walk past the first-team training pitch to get to theirs. They can see what to aspire to,” said Wilcox.

(Image: AFP/Getty)

And that first-team training pitch is an exact replica of the pitch at the Etihad Stadium — grass length, grass blend, dimensions, the lot.

There are four other first-team training pitches – each with a different grass blend, matching all possible opposition surfaces. It is remarkable attention to detail.

The dressing room in the first-team building is circular – the idea being that no one sits in a corner, everyone is equal, there is no hierarchy.

The ceiling of that dressing room is open, making way for a lounge exclusively for players. Even Pellegrini is not allowed inside.

(Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror) (Image: Andy Stenning/Daily Mirror)

The refectory looks out over the main training pitch – at the opposite end is the academy’s refectory.

It is no coincidence.

Both the academy base and the first-team centre have 40 en-suite hotel-style rooms.

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As well as the 17 training pitches, there is a 7,000-seater academy stadium, home for the Manchester City women’s team and the development squads’ fixtures.

No wonder Chinese president Xi Jinping was impressed on his recent visit with David Cameron.

(Image: MCFC/PA Wire)

It was surely no ­coincidence China Media Capital paid £265m for a 13 per cent slice of City Football Group last week.

It is becoming a ­formidable institution with a ­world-leading coaching

environment, that is for sure. But the coaching staff out on any of the 17 pitches know it takes more than these eye-popping facilities to make a new Messi.

“The facilities are incredible,” said Wilcox, the only homegrown player in Blackburn's title success of 1995.

“And when we are trying to get the best young footballers to come here, they are a fantastic selling point. If they come and see what is here, you wouldn’t think they would go anywhere else.

“And, of course, it is a brilliant environment for staff and players to work in. But, in the end, facilities do not make footballers. You still have to have the commitment, the work ethic, the temperament and the heart.”