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Manchester City have met with Lionel Messi's representatives to discuss the possibility of bringing the Argentina international to the English Premier League.

Their meeting - held in a Barcelona restaurant last week - comes amidst the former World Player of the Year's growing dissatisfaction with the state of Barca's squad following the enforced sale of team-mate and friend Neymar.

Messi and Barcelona agreed a new four-year contract last month which was designed to make the forward the best paid footballer in the history of the game, increasing his basic weekly wage to more than £1million.

The deal, however, was announced before it had been signed, and more than six weeks since Barca's press release it has yet to be formalised.

(Image: REUTERS)

(Image: REUTERS)

Since that announcement, Barcelona have suffered the embarrassment of losing Neymar – a player the Catalan club publicly declared “200 per-cent” certain to remain at the Camp Nou – to Paris Saint-Germain when the Brazilian's €222m release clause was triggered.

Three subsequent bids to recruit Philippe Coutinho as a replacement have been rejected by Liverpool.

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Barca have also been frustrated in their efforts to secure the transfer of young France international Ousmane Dembele from Borussia Dortmund. On the pitch, meanwhile, Messi's team has been comprehensively defeated by Real Madrid in two Supercopa de Espana meetings.

City's interest in Messi is a long standing one with the club's Abu Dhabi ownership and its ex-Barcelona management making it clear to the Argentine that he has an open invitation to work with Pep Guardiola in England.

(Image: Getty)

The club wants to bring a forward in before the current transfer window closes, holding concurrent talks with Alexis Sanchez over a move from Arsenal, and are understood to be prepared to use Messi's release clause to sign him this month if the possibility presents itself.

With less than two weeks remaining in this window and Messi known for his hesitancy over committing to such decisions, a more realistic and economic option than paying the buy-out this summer would be to prepare the groundwork on a pre-contract agreement that would take Messi to City on a free transfer ahead of the 2018-19 campaign.

According to Barcelona sources, Messi “is seriously considering leaving. He is open to a move, but knowing the player it will take him a while to decide”.

Under the terms of his as yet unsigned new contract with Barcelona, Messi's gross salary will increase to an annual €62m.

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At the point of publicising their verbal agreement on that deal, Barca insisted their offer of football's most lucrative playing contract was instigated by them with the unprecedented salary level designed to reflect Messi's ability to generate income for the club.

Barcelona delivered total revenues of €620.2m in 2016, the second highest in football after Manchester United's. Last season, the club budgeted for €695m of income, and according to its own analysis, Messi contributed 20 per cent of that figure.

(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

“FC Barcelona and Leo Messi have agreed on a contract renewal that will keep the Argentinian at the club until June 30th, 2021,” said Barcelona's 5 July press release. “The deal will be signed in the coming weeks, when Messi returns to the team for pre-season training.

“The club is very happy with both the renewal and the commitment of Messi, the best player in history, who has played his full professional career at Barca and has led the team to an era of extraordinary success, the likes of which has never been seen in world football.

“With Barca, the number 10 has scored 507 goals in 583 matches and is the club’s record goalscorer, as well as La Liga’s record goalscorer. But Leo Messi will not stop there - the Argentinian is in one of the best moments of his career and still has a lot more left to give, which is music to the ears of all Barca fans who will get to continue marvelling at his greatness for at least another four years.”

A source close to Messi told Record Sport the player has no intention of leaving Barcelona and will formalise his new contract within the next weeks. The delay in signing the new deal is said to have been a result of Messi's intense summer schedule and the club's preoccupation with Neymar's exit and player recruitment.