Barcelona boss Xavi Hernandez has confirmed the club’s plan to sign Lionel Messi this month while also naming the three Manchester City players he would like to sign.
In April, Barcelona transfer chiefs confirmed contact had been made with Messi regarding a potential return to the Camp Nou. There is also an offer on the table for the Argentine superstar from Saudi Arabia – although it is thought Messi would prefer to remain playing in Europe.
Messi will leave Paris Saint-Germain this month at the end of his two-year contract in the French capital and Barca, who are under significant financial restrictions this summer, will attempt to sign him.
"Next week he will make a decision and you [media] have to leave him alone," Xavi explained to Mundo Deportivo. "He will decide next week and now there are 200 hypotheses. He will decide his future and here the doors are open, there is no debate.
"He will end the season there [at PSG]. He has a lot of respect for Paris Saint-Germain. He wants to finish in the best way. His contract ends and then, he has all the right in the world to say where he goes, where to end his career."
Xavi has also bookmarked three Manchester City players with whom Barca have an active interest in signing this summer: full-back Joao Cancelo, midfielder Ilkay Gundogan and the attack-minded Bernardo Silva.
Have Your Say! Would Messi be making a mistake in returning to Barcelona? Tell us what you think here.
Cancelo joined Bayern Munich on a loan deal in January for the remainder of the campaign but he will now return to the Etihad this summer. The Portuguese international is expected to be put up for sale by the Premier League champions with Barca among the clubs interested.
The 29-year-old defender left City after an alleged falling out with boss Guardiola over a lack of game-time. His fall from prominence in Manchester came as somewhat of a surprise after playing a pivotal role in their success over several seasons.
Yet Bayern were not the only team who were chasing his signature in January. Barca boss Xavi has confirmed that they were hopeful of landing the versatile full-back, only for Guardiola to pull the plug on the deal and instead send the player to the German champions.
Xavi told Catalan media outlet TV3 : "We wanted Cancelo. They offered him to us and we gave the OK. In the end they tell us that Manchester City do not want him to come to Barca. That is true."
Xavi reiterated those Cancelo comments in his latest interview, before saying of his City teammate Gundogan: “Look, the only thing I can share is that any footballer we are going to sign and that we have the chance to talk to wants to come. They all want to come to Barca.”
Xavi, who also namedropped Silva as a player he admires in the wide-ranging interview, continued of Gundogan: “What worries me the most is not the situation of the player who is released, I am concerned about the situation of 'fair play'. That is the one thing that worries me the most.”
