Manchester City urged not to sign Barcelona star Lionel Messi by own midfielder Fernandinho

The Brazilian feels the City 'project' should focus on long-term investment rather than marquee signings

Evan Bartlett
Thursday 05 October 2017 14:00 EDT
Comments
Lionel Messi and Fernandinho go head to head at the Etihad in 2014
Lionel Messi and Fernandinho go head to head at the Etihad in 2014 (AFP/Getty Images)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Manchester City have the financial might to sign Barcelona star Lionel Messi but should avoid doing so, according to midfielder Fernandinho.

The Argentine forward has long been linked with a move to the Etihad and the chances of a world record switch improved in many people’s eyes following the signing of his former Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola last summer.

But Fernandinho believes the sort of money they would have to spend would be better invested elsewhere.

“Could we sign Messi or Ronaldo? I guess so, but then you have to consider the club’s priorities first. We have the financial power, everyone knows that, but there’s the priority issue that must be considered," Fernandinho told Goal.

“Are we aiming to sign one player or to assemble a strong, competitive team to achieve our goals? Sometimes people mistake some things regarding that, thinking just one player would make up for the needs of an entire club. Maybe it’s not supposed to be like that.”

Fernandinho believes the club have moved beyond the sort of marquee signings that characterised the early years of the Sheikh Mansour era and are now more focused on more long-term investments.

“The project itself is based on having a strong team, on developing a top academy structure to reveal new players,” he added.

“The City project is much more than about signing a single player with a strong name, that would eventually cost a lot more.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in