Manchester City's Pep Guardiola AND Lionel Messi pursuit boosted by £265m sale of stake in the club

Most of the money coming from China in Tuesday deal will go into a war-chest already bulging with record revenues and Blues' slice of £5bn TV deal

Blue Camp? Manchester City will have the financial clout to tempt Messi and Guardiola

Manchester City can attract Pep Guardiola to the Etihad with a record pot of gold next summer.
Most of the £265million generated on Tuesday by owner Sheikh Mansour selling 13 per cent of the the Blues’ parent company, City Football Group, to Chinese bidders will go towards players.
This will be on top of the tens of millions already available for transfers at the end of this season because of the club’s record revenues and their cut of the Premier League's new £5.14billion TV deal.
City splashed out over £150m last summer on the likes of Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling, and will be able to offer Guardiola an even bigger war-chest to take over after this campaign.
In pictures — China's president gets VIP tour of the Etihad:

 

 

 

The Bayern Munich boss remains City’s long-term target to succeed Manuel Pellegrini, and they believe they are an increasingly attractive proposition.
Sheikh Mansour’s deal with companies owned by the Chinese government gives the Blues extra financial muscle to compete with Chelsea and possibly Manchester United for Guardiola's services.

 

Small potatoes: City's spending next summer could easily eclipse what these two cost

They feel they can offer the Spaniard the terms he would want and also guarantee him that they can compete for the world’s very best - such as Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi - in the transfer market.

City’s hierarchy of chief executive Ferran Soriano and director of football Txiki Begiristain have targeted Guardiola since they arrived at City in 2012, and reckon they can tempt their former Barca colleague to England.