“Crazy Day” – Manchester City Bid For Lionel Messi But Were Forced to Settle For $40M Real Madrid Transfer, Reveals Ex-Manager

Soccer has seen some drastic changes over the last decade. Often regarded as the noisy neighbors during the early 2010s, Manchester City always played second fiddle to Manchester United. However, things took a big turn following Sheikh Mansour‘s takeover of the club. During his appearance on a podcast, the club’s former manager commented on the scenes during the day of the takeover, as the club sent in an outrageous bid to sign Lionel Messi.

However, the side failed to land La Pulga and then paid $40 million to Real Madrid to secure their marquee signing. Since the takeover, Manchester City hasn’t looked back, as the side is now on the verge of making Premier League history.

Mark Hughes opens up Manchester City’s attempt to sign Lionel Messi

Former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes was present on a podcast with No Tippy Tappy Football, where he talked about the drama around the takeover day.

The former Manchester City manager stated, “I’m getting these calls from Gary Cook and everybody involved with the club saying the takeover’s happening. They want a key signing to mark the owning of the club. So you do you want and I go what do you mean who do I want. Well, we got all these bids out for all these top players in the world.”

Hughes then added the club was trying to nail a key signing following the takeover and even sent in a bid for Lionel Messi. Hughes stated, “All of a sudden, there was a little nibble from Robinho, Real Madrid. We thought right, we have to make this happen. It was a crazy day. There were bids going out for Lionel Messi!”

It is intriguing to witness the level of success that Manchester City has attained throughout the years. While the club was one of the less reputed clubs before the takeover, the new regime helped the club to become one of the most dominant sides of the world.

Manchester City looking to make history this season

The Citizens are eyeing to etch their name in record books with the side, hoping to lift four consecutive Premier League titles. No team in history ever achieved the accolade, with arc-rivals Manchester City coming close to the record in 2001/02 and 2009/10 seasons.

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However, things are looking bleak for the defending champions, with the side slipping to the fourth spot in the standings and six points behind table-toppers Arsenal, who have 36 points to their name. Despite the roadblock, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is confident that his side has what it takes to win the Premier League title, this season.

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Do you think Manchester City can win the Premier League title this season to make it four in a row? Let us know in the comments below.