Manchester City set transfer sights on Barcelona superstar amid Lionel Messi regret | OneFootball

Officials at Manchester City are reportedly eyeing a remarkable swoop on FC Barcelona for superstar attacking talent Lamine Yamal, inspired by regret over Lionel Messi.

The Premier League giants’ interest in Yamal comes at a time when the Etihad Stadium hierarchy continue to explore options for future-proofing Pep Guardiola’s forward line, particularly as Erling Haaland and Phil Foden remain focal points of their long-term project.

Manchester City have shown an increased willingness to invest heavily in emerging talent over recent seasons – highlighted by the arrivals of Claudio Echeverri and Rayan Cherki – and Yamal would represent the most ambitious step yet in that youth-driven evolution.

At just 18 years old, Lamine Yamal is already being heralded as the future of Barcelona and Spanish football, with dazzling performances making him a mainstay in both La Liga and the Champions League, drawing comparisons with a young Lionel Messi for his composure, technical skill, and game-changing creativity.

It is little surprise that Manchester City’s admiration for the teenager reportedly stems from a sense of “what could have been” regarding their failed pursuit of Messi in 2020.

According to a new report from journalist Romain Molina, both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain were pushing to sign Lamine Yamal before he signed a new contract with Barcelona earlier this year, running until 2031.

From the side of those at Manchester City, it is claimed that as a result of failing to sign Lionel Messi towards the end of the Argentine’s legendary career at Camp Nou, Etihad officials became insistent on signing Yamal.

As for the position of those in the French capital, PSG are claimed to have been wanting to sign the Spanish star ‘whatever it takes’, while the player’s agent used interest from both clubs to drive his price up and put pressure on the Catalan club to finalise a new agreement.

While a move for Yamal appears unrealistic in the immediate term, the story reinforces Manchester City’s growing influence in the elite youth market having already move quickly for talents such as Echeverri, Oscar Bobb, and Divine Mukasa over recent years.

Interest in Yamal would therefore represent a continuation of that strategy, with Manchester City seeking to identify generational players early before their market value becomes prohibitive – if it has not already.

Barcelona unsurprisingly view Yamal – a firm favourite for immediate-term Ballon d’Or honours – as untouchable, and his long-term contract includes an eye-watering €1 billion release clause.

For Manchester City, and perhaps most other clubs, this makes any potential pursuit a long-term ambition rather than an active operation. Still, with Guardiola’s admiration for La Masia graduates and the club’s history of monitoring Barcelona’s brightest prospects, Yamal could remain a name firmly on City’s radar for years to come.