Lionel Messi and His Wife Antonella’s Untold Story: Why Their Transfer to Manchester City FailedAn famous figure at Barcelona, Lionel Messi, revealed his wish to break ties with the club in August 2020, throwing the footballing world into pandemonium. With the Catalan giants mired in managerial and financial crises, Manchester City rose to prominence as a leading candidate to recruit Messi.

When Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo bungled his dream transfer to the English Premier League, the story took an unexpected turn.

Pep Guardiola, Messi’s former manager at Barcelona, was an important factor in his decision-making process. Manchester City allegedly offered a huge contract with a release clause in an effort to entice Lionel Messi away from his longtime club, sparking wild speculation.

Manchester City was ready to spend all their money at that point, offering an incredible £430 million to sign Messi. The Sun reports that the club was prepared to pay Messi this enormous amount over five years. It is worth mentioning that they had offered the Argentine a staggering £600 million, five-year deal only six months prior.

Manchester City had a fantastic chance to sign Lionel Messi before his contract at Barcelona expired in 2020–21 without having to pay a large transfer fee. He was also enticed to join Manchester City because he might potentially work with his mentor, Pep Guardiola.

While playing for Barcelona, Messi maintained a weekly salary of £500,000 (or £26 million) and was the club’s highest-paid player. Taking a voluntary salary cut in November of last year to help Barcelona financially was an incredible display of club camaraderie on his part and his teammates’.

But Manchester City’s offer grew less attractive with the passing of time. Manchester City’s immediate ambitions were not aligned with Messi’s decision to stay in Spain for another year at Barcelona, thanks to an extra season. In addition, Messi knew full well that his career was entering its twilight at the age of 34.

Messi and Barcelona’s legal battle over his release clause escalated, rendering all previous talks and agreements fruitless. Barça and La Liga maintained their stance that Messi’s release clause was legitimate, stating that Manchester City would need to pay a significant sum to acquire his talents.