England legend Glenn Hoddle is convinced Manchester City want to sign Barcelona star Lionel Messi.
Hoddle wrote in the Mail on Sunday: "The appointment of Pep Guardiola for next season at City is just the latest development that suggests that traditional roles are slowly reversing and that City are not just the equal of their neighbours but are beginning to go past them.
"While I believe that Guardiola will find the Premier League more difficult than La Liga and the Bundesliga in terms of the variety and strength of the opposition, there's no doubting his excellence as a coach.
"His appointment will also be part of a strategy to attempt to bring Lionel Messi to English football.
"There's no doubt that City could afford him and now they have a manager in whom Messi could trust. City already looked an extraordinarily strong proposition just with Guardiola in charge of the squad. With Messi, it would be frightening for the rest."