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When the six-time Ballon d'Or winner finally left Barcelona after 21 years, the Premier League champions had already moved on to other targets
There was always a feeling at Manchester City that if Lionel Messi ever left Barcelona, he would end up at the Etihad Stadium.
Other than the weather, everything was in place for him to find a slice of his beloved Catalunya in Manchester: a squad to match his ambition, a salary to equal his expectations and, crucially, a coach that had previously extracted the very best out of his unique talent.