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Barcelona star Lionel Messi has been urged by both Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure to quit Spain in order to join City.

As M.E.N reporter Rob Dawson writes, there remains uncertainty over the Argentine's future due to a mixture of boardroom disagreements and concern over his fitness.

And there is little doubt that the big-spending Blues would be at the front of the queue should the world's best player become available.

Would it be hard to convince him to come? We think not!

Here are ten reasons Messi should consider swapping Barcelona for Manchester.

1) He won't miss the beach

Barcelona beach may have made National Geographic's list of the top ten in the world, but travelling down to the edge of dry land sounds like a lot of effort to us. If you want sand, get yourself down to Hula Bar on Stevenson Square and grab yourself a cocktail. If it's water you're after, look no further than the Manchester Ship Canal, Leo!

2) It's never too warm

Okay, there are two ways of interpreting this one, but stay with us. At the end of the day, Messi spends most of his working day running around a football pitch chasing a spherical object. You do not want to be doing that in 30 degree heat. And cooling showers wouldn't go amiss...

3) Just as much culture

Barcelona may have the famous cultural goldmine that is the Gothic Quarter, but that's nothing in comparison to the Northern Quarter! It's got Night and Day and Dry Bar, for goodness sake - what more do you need?

4) Trams

Like Manchester, Barcelona boasts a tram network which makes getting around a sizeable city incredibly easy. Unlike in Catalonia, however, Messi need never worry about being late for a tram in Manchester, as they're very rarely on time anyway!

5) Manc is easier than Catalan

English Spanish Catalan Manc Hello ¡Hola Hola Alright How are you? ¿Cómo estás Com estàs? Alright That is okay Eso está bien Això està bé Alright

6) Derby games are far better

Blue v Red. Families divided. It doesn't get much better than a meeting between Manchester's teams - City and United. The same doesn't quite apply over in La Liga, though, when four-time European champions and 22-time Spanish champions Barcelona take on... lowly Espanyol.

7) Curry is definitely superior to tapas

We've heard a lot about the wonders of Las Ramblas - the food, the drink, the atmosphere. Not interested, thanks. If you're Lionel Messi you're probably sick of all that by now, and fancy a trip down to Rusholme to take in the delights of the curry mile for a change.

8) The Argentine enclave

We figure that with Messi having been at Barcelona since the age of 11, he might be feeling a touch homesick. Going back to Argentina would be a waste of his immense talents, but with Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Martin Demichelis all in Manchester, why not meet them half way?

9) Similar architecture

They may have fancier names, but the Sagrada Família, Gaudi's Palau Güell and the Columbus Monument can, quite simply, do one. Give us Manchester town hall, Manchester Central or... erm, Stockport Pyramid any day!

10)Thrashing good teams is more fun

Prior to sustaining the injury which is currently keeping him on the sidelines, the Ballon D'or holder took part in quite a few of Barcelona's huge wins this season. Levante (7-0), Rayo Vallecano (4-0), Celta Vigo (3-0) and Real Betis (4-1) were all put to the sword by Messi and Barca - but so what?. City have pulled out similar results against United (4-1), Tottenham (6-0) and Arsenal (6-3) already, why not challenge yourself, Lionel?