Leo Messi's desire to leave Barcelona last summer received global attention and his most likely destination if he had got his way was Manchester City, yet it appears as though Pep Guardiola's team will not be pursuing the Argentine star next year.

With his contract set to expire next summer and clearly disgruntled at the current state of the club, a reunion with his former Barcelona coach seemed likely, even after he decided to stay another season.

Yet Sky Sports report that Manchester City will not go for Messi in the summer of 2021 due to his high wages and age.

Messi turns 34 next year and despite clearly not losing his ability, the Cityzens are put off by the financial package required to land a player coming to the end of his career.

"I have it on good authority from someone close to the situation that Manchester City are not going to bid for Lionel Messi," Hunter told Sky Sports News.

"Based on the information I have, as of today, that door is closed.

"They have two reasons for this: age and finances. Talking about age, he is heading into the twilight years of his career and you'll be bringing on board a Messi that is different to what we've seen for the last 17 years with Barcelona.

"Even he himself has said that he is getting closer to the dreaded r-word of retirement more so than anyone cares to admit.

"That goes hand-in-hand with finances because even though he would be able to join for free, his wages are astronomically high - he is earning about 100m euros per year. That would be a huge financial burden for any club to take on, especially given the fact that we are in the middle of a global pandemic."