Lionel Messi and Manchester City open talks over a mega deal

Manchester City want Lionel Messi and are reportedly willing to pay him a whopping £800,000-a-week to take him to the Etihad.

According to the Sun, Messi's representatives have already held initial discussions about moving to the Premier League, in a deal which could land the Argentine ace an amazing £40million annual salary.

City are said to have been encouraged that Messi, 28, is willing to leave Barcelona next summer.

At that point, he will have just two years left on his £500,000-a-week deal at Camp Nou, with the player reportedly upset that Los Cules have prioritised the renewal of Neymar's contract over his own.

The pair are good friends on and off the pitch, but Messi's desire to be the main man is something City are said to believe can help them bring the player to England.

And with a new TV deal set to kick in next season - worth £150million per season to the Premier League winners - City chiefs can fund the mega-money deal.

The Sun also reports that signing Messi would also greatly improve the chances of City bringing Pep Guardiola to the club as their next coach.

The Spaniard is currently with Bayern Munich but his new contract remains unsigned.

Bayern have announced that a decision, one way or the other, will be made before Christmas - and as Mirror Football exclusively revealed earlier this week, are growing increasingly confident he will stay in Bavaria.