Manchester City have firmly denied claims that the club's chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, said he lodged a bid to sign Barcelona maestro Lionel Messi and offered to triple his wages.
Agence France Presse cited a report from Mundo Deportivo, which earlier this week quoted Al Mubarak on his previous efforts to reunite Pep Guardiola with his old Barca charge: "We asked Guardiola to talk to him, we offered him triple the salary he has at Barcelona, but he never accepted."
However, City issued a response to the remarks, which they say aren't genuine: "We deny the veracity of these quotes.