Barcelona star Lionel Messi has reportedly been holding secret talks with Premier League giants Manchester City, if the latest rumours from the British press are to be believed.The Sun's Ken Lawrence claimed on Tuesday the 28-year-old and his entourage have been blown away by the financial terms the Citizens are willing to offer for the services of the four-time Ballon d'Or winner, backed by the might of the Premier League's new record TV deal: He is well aware the numbers, no matter how mind-boggling, really do stack up.After all, the new Premier League TV deals could be worth more than 9bn over the next three seasons.International TV rights due to be finalised before Christmas are also set to almost double the 5.14bn domestic deal. That means United and City, just by finishing in the top four, would earn 220m a seasonor 660mEACH over the TV agreements threeyear time-frame.According to the article, Messi would cost City at least 150 million, and even that's optimistic, as his buyout clause is a reported 174.2 million, per the Daily Telegraph, and the Catalans will not be keen to sell.Add in the fact buyout clauses are subject to taxation, which can be high as 25 percent, per ESPN FC's Graham Hunter, and you could end up with possibly a transfer fee of well over 200 million. And that's before Messi's weekly wages have even been paidanother 1 million per week, according to Lawrence.The numbers sound absolutely absurd, but Lawrence claimed City would be able to pull off the deal.It's hard to believe Barcelona would be willing to sell the player who has brought the squad to unprecedented heights and who has been the face of the Blaugrana for years, although the dazzling transfer fees being mentioned could play a part.The Catalans face a financial crisis and can't even afford to make any significant signings during the upcoming January transfer window, per Sport's Lluis Miguelsanz. A financial injection of 200 million couldn't come at a better time, and Barcelona have already shown they could cope without their star forward.Messi was forced to sit out a number of matches with an injury earlier this season, and in his absence, Luis Suarez and Neymar in particular stepped up in his absence.The 23-year-old Brazilian is enjoying a remarkable campaign, and Brazil coach Dunga told O Globo (h/t FIFA.com) he should win the Ballon d'Or this season: Neymar is flying at the moment, taking on a leadership role in the team. I believe his time has come. It's not that Cristiano Ronaldo is not playing well now, but he's not on the same level as last year. Lionel Messi was doing well but he got injured."Neymar looks ready to assume the mantel as Barcelona's top dog, and perhaps Messi is tempted by the bags of cash being thrown around in the Premier League or the promise of a new, foreign adventure. But despite all of that, a transfer still seems highly unlikely.Barcelona remain adamant he won't be sold, as club president Josep Maria Bartomeu told the Financial Times (h/t ESPN FC), and fans of the Catalans would riot if the Blaugrana decided to move Messi in the near future.These kind of transfer rumours will pop up periodically, but until Messi or the club give any indication a split could be on the horizon, they're just thatrumours.Follow @ReverschPass
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