Barca´s Messi ´rejects offer´ from Man City

Barcelona’s Argentine star Lionel Messi has rejected a multi-million-euro offer to move to big-spending English Premiership club Manchester City, a Spanish sports newspaper reported Wednesday.

Representatives from the English club, owned by the Abu Dhabi United Group, offered to buy out the striker’s contract for 150 million euros (204 million dollars) and pay him 10 million euros per season over four years, the Marca newspaper said.

It said Messi, 21, who has always insisted he wants to stay at Barca, immediately rejected the offer.

The paper said Real Madrid’s Spanish striker Raul had also recently rejected a similar offer from Manchester City.

Another Spanish sports newspaper, AS, said Wednesday that City are also interested in two Atletico Madrid strikers — Argentina’s Sergio Aguero and Uruguay’s Diego Forlan — as well as Valencia’s Spanish international David Villa.

City’s takeover by the Abu Dhabi United Group last year left them as one of the world’s wealthiest clubs – a point they proved with the British record 32 million pounds (36 million euros) capture of Brazil star Robinho in September.