Manchester City are evaluating the feasibility of a deal for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi according to a report from the online edition of sports broadcaster ESPN.

The Premier League club are well aware just how complicated it will be for them to bring Messi to Manchester but want to be prepared in the event that the opportunity to do just that arises.

Barcelona insist that Messi is not up for sale and if any club want him they will have to trigger his release clause in his contract which stands at no less than €700 million.

Despite this, the report does state that some Barcelona board members would be open to selling Messi provided the money raised from his sale is reinvested into rebuilding the team.

As for Messi himself, the report explains that he knows he only has a few years left of his career and he wants to ensure he spends them somewhere where he can compete for football’s biggest honours.

Reports elsewhere in the media have also seen Messi linked with potential switches to Inter as well as Paris Saint-Germain.