Man City deny 'triple-salary' Messi transfer bid

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Manchester City have refuted rumors of a failed approach to sign Barcelona's Argentina star Lionel Messi.

Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo published a story on Saturday that revealed City chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak had offered an extraordinary 1.3 million US dollars per week deal to buy Messi.

Mubarak was quoted as saying: "We asked [City manager] Guardiola to talk to him, we offered him triple the salary that he has at Barcelona, but he never accepted."

City deny their chairman Khaldoon al Mubarak had offered to triple Messi's Barcelona wages in a bid to tempt the Argentinian to the Etihad Stadium. /VCG Photo

However, the Manchester club issued a statement through AFP denying any such approach had been made.

"We deny the veracity of these quotes," a City spokesman said.

According to British media outlet Goal, the rumor was originated from a recent Q&A event where Mubarak was a guest. The chairman was asked which transfer near-miss he most regrets in his decade owning City, he laughed and replied: "Messi."

Messi signed a new contract with Barca in November 2017. The deal will keep him at the Catalan giants through the 2021 season when he will be 34.

Reports in Spain suggest that Barcelona are already making plans to extend his current deal by at least one more season.