Pep Guardiola and Lionel Messi could be reunited at Manchester City, but it won't come cheap.

According to Sport (h/t Marca), the Premier League giants are preparing a five-year, €750 million deal. The reported details are as follows:

"The report says this contract will be split into two periods—three years with City in the Premier League and two years with sister club New York City in MLS. Messi would earn 100 million euros a season before tax at City, with a total contract worth of 750 million euros over five years. The rest of the sum will be the 250 million euro signing bonus to join New York."

What remains in question is what transfer fee, if any, Barcelona will be able to obtain for Messi. The player has a €700 million release clause, though Messi has a stipulation in his contract that he could leave on a free transfer if he announced his intention to do so before May 31.

Messi sent a burofax to announce his departure intentions after that date but argued he did so before the season ended, given that the campaign went on hiatus and resumed in the summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic. His argument, in essence, is that the May 31 date became irrelevant once the season stretched well into the summer, since the date represented the original end of the season.

Messi leaving on a free transfer would be devastating to Barca on a number of levels, while having a €700 million release clause would offer them far more leverage to keep him.

Abraham22:
Thats if he win tne legal battle