How Pep Guardiola can set up Manchester City with Lionel Messi

According to Mirror, Manchester City could look to offer Lionel Messi a pre-contract agreement in January. That would mean Messi joining Manchester City on a free transfer when his contract expires in June 2021.

What is the exact situation?

In the aftermath of Barcelona’s humiliating Champions League exit at the hands of Bayern Munich, Messi dropped the bombshell that he wanted to leave Barcelona. Since La Liga players have release clauses that need to be paid to sign them, the same was the case with Messi.

His argument was that he could walk out for free at the end of a season given he had an option in his contract. Whereas Barcelona chiefs said that that option had expired in August and the full release clause had to be paid if any transfer was to take place.

With both parties at loggerheads, Messi finally cleared the situation when he decided not to take the club to the court and fight for this matter. He decided to play out the last year of his contract because of his affection for the club.

How can Guardiola set up Man City with Leo Messi

During the time when Messi was all set to leave Barcelona, Manchester City were one of the clubs to register their interest. There were valid reasons too. Messi’s former manager Pep Guardiola was at City. Their team was much better compared to that of Barcelona and lastly, City were one of the teams that could realistically afford his massive wages.

Now that the club is back with an offer, let’s take a look at how Guardiola can set up the team with Messi at its heart. Messi’s role is very hard to define as he likes to float around the forward areas, drop into the midfield and have a free role.

That being said, City would also give him the same freedom to operate but with some added tweaks to accommodate the other players. Nevertheless, the prospect of Lionel Messi lining up alongside the current City stars looks irresistible.

Defence

Ederson takes his place between the sticks and there can be no arguments about that. Kyle Walker and Benjamin Mendy will be the full-backs responsible for providing attacking threat in the wide areas. New signing Ruben Dias partners Aymeric Laporte in central defence.

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Midfield

Rodri is the deepest of the three midfielders offering protection to the backline. Kevin De Bruyne plays just above the forward line, on the left-hand side. Now this is exactly where Messi slots in. As a right-sided attacking midfielder, Messi can go forward and cut in on his left foot or drop between the midfield when the full-backs or other midfielders are ahead of him.

Attack

The frontline would consist of Raheem Sterling on the left and Riyad Mahrez on the right with Sergio Aguero spearheading through the middle. Given how City play, their forwards can interchange positions and drop deeper to bring Messi into play.