Lionel Messi free agency
Soccer Football - 2018 World Cup Qualifiers - Ecuador v Argentina - Olimpico Atahualpa stadium, Quito, Ecuador - October 10, 2017. Argentina's Lionel Messi celebrates after he scored his team's third goal. Reuters / Henry Romero

Manchester City, former four-time Premier League champions, are getting ready to make a bid for Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi, who will be a free agent in January. Messi, a native of Argentina, is Barcelona's all-time top-scorer with 555 goals across all competitions.

Earlier this summer, Barcelona announced that Messi had signed a contract extension that would keep the striker in Naou Camp until 2021. Josep Maria Bartomeu, president of Barcelona FC, was quoted as saying, "Everything is signed. There is no need to worry." However, several Spanish outlets recently reported that the deal had fallen through and teams such as City are free to negotiate with Messi as early as January.

Lionel Messi free agency: Man City preparing world record offer

According to Spanish newspaper AS claims, Man City Manager Pep Guardiola is trying to reunite with his former star striker at the Etihad this winter. The report claims that City is preparing a January offer of €400 million (AU$677 million) in an effort to poach Messi from Spain. "Sources close to the Premier League club reveal that 'serious conversations have been held with the footballer’s inner circle,' although that has not been confirmed," reads a story published on Sunday.

The report adds that the Argentine would prefer to stay in Barcelona. "That said, Messi is happy with his life in Barcelona. He knows that his wife, Antonella, is not in favour of moving the family, and Messi himself feels wanted. He would like to see improvement in some aspects of his relationship with the club, but there are things that no longer depend solely on him."

In July, Barcelona issued a press release to confirm Messi's contract extension. "The Club is very happy with both the renewal and the commitment of Messi, the best player in history, who has played his full professional career at Barça and has led the team to an era of extraordinary success, the likes of which has never been seen in world football." However, several reports have confirmed that Lionel Messi would become a free agent when his contract expires on Jan. 30, 2018.