Manchester City: Barca star to snub City; Yaya turns down £400k-a-week China deal; Kolarov says title race isn’t over

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Despite growing reports that Barcelona’s Lionel Messi could be set for a record-breaking £100 million move away from the Nou Camp to join up with Pep Guardiola at the Etihad, Manchester Evening News have said that the Argentinian is set to snub City and will instead sign a new deal with Barca.

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Messi’s contract doesn’t run out for another 18 months, but talks of agreeing a new deal have heavily stalled recently due to the financial demands that the 29-year-old is making; and since the contract dispute, Guardiola has been sniffing around at a potential reunion with the Barca forward.

However Messi’s former teammate, Xavi, has said that he fully expects his old friend to sign a new contract at the club he has represented since coming through the academy at 13-years-old.

“He’s the best player in the world and people always want to write about him, but often the noise is false, it’s not true, and I’m sure that’s the case at the moment. I don’t have any doubts that Messi will renew with Barcelona, no doubts. His relationship with Barca is idyllic and I think it will continue for many more years yet”

One City player whose season has undergone a complete turnaround is Yaya Toure after his early season falling out with Guardiola, and the 33-year-old has rejected a staggering offer of £420,000 a week from Chinese side Jiangsu Suning in order to continue playing his football in the Premier League according to Sky Sports News.

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Despite being inside the last six months of his contract, and there being no promise of a renewal come the end of the season, Toure reportedly wants to remain in England and try and persuade Guardiola into giving him a new deal.

Away from transfer talk, City defender Aleksander Kolarov has said that the Blues are still in with a chance of winning the title despite sitting ten points behind Chelsea after their thrashing at the hands of Everton last weekend.

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Speaking to Manchester Evening News, Kolarov remained defiant after his side’s defeat and said: “I still think the title race will go to the very last day and we have to make sure we’re involved.

““We know that the game is always in our hands so we just need to turn more games into wins because we’ve dominated some matches but not ended up winning.

“Every game is tough in the Premier League whether they are at the top or the bottom.”

Kolarov was speaking ahead of a massive must-win game for Pep Guardiola’s side, when they host second-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday evening.

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