Manchester City are willing to pay £100-million to try and lure Argentine superstar Lionel Messi away from La Liga giants Barcelona, according to reports.

Recent reports have suggested that negotiations between City and Barcelona took place at the end of last month, however, but no bid was made for the 29-year-old.

Messi, who is yet to agree to a contract extension with the La Liga side, has given City motivation to try and capture the five-time Ballon D’or winner. Pep Guardiola are prepared to offer him a salary of £800,00-a-week.

Over the course of his career, Messi has scored a total of 483 times and has assisted a further 221 goals from 557 appearances in all competitions playing for Barcelona.