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LONDON. — Manchester City are stepping up their bid to lure Lionel Messi away from Barcelona in what would be the biggest transfer of all time, reports claim. Manchester City have met with 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 over £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.

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.

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.

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. — The Daily Record.