Man City in pole position to sign Lionel Messi if he leaves Barcelona

Manchester City believe they are in pole position to sign Lionel Messi if the Argentine quits Barcelona in the aftermath of the club’s Champions League humiliation.

The Blues would pay Messi whatever it takes to lure him to the Etihad and reunite him with Pep Guardiola.

And City’s stance on the 32-year-old remains steadfast that they will be at the front of the queue if the six-time Ballon d’Or winner decides to seek a new challenge.

Barcelona are in crisis after a season in which they surrendered the La Liga title to bitter rivals Real Madrid was ended ignominiously by an 8-2 Champions League demolition by Bayern Munich.

Messi left the pitch in Lisbon looking like a broken man after a year spent battling Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu and the Nou Camp hierarchy on the direction the club is going

The clause in his contract that allows him to leave for free at the end of every season expired at the end of May.

But City are now waiting for an indication from Messi that he will consider leaving his beloved Barcelona after 16 years.

His current £635million buy-out clause puts him out of the reach of every club, but Barcelona don’t have the money to finance the squad rebuild they so clearly need – and may be forced to sacrifice their most precious asset to make it happen.

Bartomeu has called a crisis meeting for tomorrow where he is likely to sack current manager Quique Setien, while sporting director Eric Abidal’s position will also come under scrutiny.

And former Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino is among the favourites to take over the Nou Camp hotseat.

The Argentine, 48, is on a short-list of three candidates – with former Barcelona aces Xavi and Ronald Koeman also strong contenders.