Manchester City could supposedly reignite their interest in Lionel Messi if the attacker leaves Paris Saint-Germain next year.
Pep Guardiola's side were originally linked with a move for the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner in 2021, when it became clear that he would not continue in Barcelona colours.
Man City and PSG were considered two of the only realistic destinations for Messi due to the size of the financial operation, and the French champions won the race to sign the Argentina international on a two-year deal with the option of a third.
Messi struggled to show his best form during his debut campaign with Les Parisiens, though, and he was tipped to leave the French capital after just one season.
However, the 35-year-old stayed put at the Parc des Princes and has impressed for Christophe Galtier's side this season, but his future beyond the summer remains shrouded in uncertainty.
Messi could open pre-contract talks with foreign clubs in January before departing as a free agent at the end of the campaign, and Barcelona president Joan Laporta has frequently voiced his desire to bring the attacker back to Camp Nou.
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Now, El Nacional claims that Man City could be prepared to try again for Messi, and the Premier League champions initially wanted to sign the South American two years ago, when he sent a burofax to ex-Blaugrana president Josep Maria Bartomeu informing him of his desire to leave.
Bartomeu denied Messi's request, and the attacker left as a free agent the following year, with Barcelona's financial difficulties making it impossible for the Catalan club to keep him on the books.
Guardiola and Messi enjoyed a trophy-laden spell together at Camp Nou, and the report claims that the former is keen to reunite with the Argentine and field him alongside Erling Braut Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne.
City's £100m move for Jack Grealish in 2021 meant that they could not also afford to strike a deal for Messi, who would supposedly jump at the chance to work with Guardiola again.
For the time being, Messi's sole focus is on the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, and PSG will attempt to tie the attacker down to a new contract following the tournament.
The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner recently hinted that he would prefer to remain in France, telling Le Parisien: "I like Paris a lot more now, I have discovered the city and I find it magnificent.
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"In the first year, there was a huge change. Things happened very suddenly, it was not my objective to leave Barcelona, and everything about it was very abrupt.
"After this long period and the difficult times, I am happy to live where I live, and my family and I are enjoying Paris. It was hard at the start, we had stayed all our lives in the same place, I had never moved, and I did not know what it was like to leave.
"We did not expect this, it happened very quickly, and we had to leave Barcelona overnight. We found ourselves in a new environment.
"We had our life in Barcelona, our friends, our habits, and we found ourselves in a different place, with another language, another football, another climate, I suffered a lot from that. It was hard. But, today, I enjoy everything including football."
Messi has amassed 12 goals and 14 assists from 19 games in a PSG shirt this season, taking his total for the club to 23 goals and 29 assists in 53 outings since arriving last summer.
The PSG man has recently taken part in individual training with Argentina, but he is expected to be passed fit for their World Cup opener with Saudi Arabia in Group C on Tuesday.
Ben Knapton
