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Pep Guardiola Denies Manchester City Made €250M Lionel Messi Transfer Bid

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has dismissed speculation that the club made a move for Barcelona icon Lionel Messi and has said he will never try to sign him in the future.

It was reported by El Mundo (h/t Football Espana) that City were ready to meet the €250 million (£219 million) clause in Messi's old contract. The Argentina international signed a new deal in 2017 that included a trigger amount of €700 million (£614 million).

However, when asked about the rumours on Friday in his press conference, Guardiola rubbished any notion that City tried to sign the 31-year-old, per James Robson of the Evening Standard.