Premier League club Manchester City have publicly denied reports that they tried to lure Argentine forward Lionel Messi to the club with a huge wage offer.
The claim emerged from a media conference in the UAE after it was reported that club chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak claimed the Premier League champions offered to triple Messi's wages, but the 31-year-old rejected it.
Mubarak was reported to have told Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo "we asked Guardiola to talk to him, we offered him triple the salary he has at Barcelona, but he never accepted."
However, a Manchester City spokesman denied the wages claim: “we deny the veracity of these quotes.”
Messi had been linked with the club after Pep Guardiola joined in 2016. The pair enjoyed a fruitful relationship while in Spain. Should such an offer have existed, it would have seen Messi receive a sum in excess of £1 million per week.
