1. Manchester City
If there is an obvious destination, it?s Manchester City. The reasons: Pep Guardiola; a strong chance to win the most competitive domestic league in the world; a chance to win the Champions League; a club that desperately wants to win the Champions League; a diverse, multilingual squad with Latin influence; state-of-the-art structure behind the scenes; and money.
City doesn?t necessarily need Messi. And its squad, over the years, has been built in a calculated, sustainable way. Messi doesn?t quite fit the purchase profile. The last time City paid more than $20 million for a player older than 27 was 2013, and the last time it paid more than $20 million for a player older than 28 was ... never. Messi is 33.
But you don?t buy Lionel Messi because you need him, or because he fits your purchase profile. You buy him because he?s f?ing Lionel Messi. And because you and he have both been choking in the Champions League, and your and his best chance to reverse that trend is together.
Perhaps Messi wouldn?t want to live in Manchester, or play in the Premier League, or play for the Abu Dhabi royal family. But whenever less veritable Messi rumors have popped up over the years, City has often been the club linked. It is once again the bookmakers? favorite. - sports yahoo