Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville remains convinced that Lionel Messi will stay at Barcelona this summer but if the Argentine magician were to leave the Camp Nou, he can only see him moving to Manchester City.

Even though Manchester United and Chelsea would also have the resources to finance a move for the 33-year-old, Neville predicts that the player would be keen on joining up with former manager Pep Guardiola at the Etihad:

“If he were to come to the Premier League, I think it would be to work with Pep. Would I want to see it? I think I would have to say yes, because the idea of watching Messi close up, something I have done over the last 10 years, really is something to behold.”

“Would I want to stand in the way of every single young fan in this country having the opportunity to him at close hand when fans are back in stadiums, no I wouldn’t. But I just hope he doesn’t do very well for them!”

All the noises coming from Messi’s camp seem to suggest he is focused on leaving Barca but there is still a possibility this is a powerplay from the player to enforce change at his current club.

Reliable journalists, though, have said that City are putting in the work in order to engineer Messi’s move to the Premier League but it remains to be seen whether a free transfer switch is possible, considering the legal battle which could ensue.