Manchester City are ready to throw the bank at Barcelona star Xavi.
The Mirror says on the surface, they would seem to have no chance of landing a player who has been at Barca for his whole career, and is assumed to want to end his playing days there.
But Xavi is not a massive earner at the Nou Camp and, at 31, has achieved just about everything he can with club and country and is approaching the time when he might like to cash in at the end of his illustrious career.
A similar situation occurred at Real Madrid, when they allowed one of their all time greats, Raul, to leave to try a new adventure with Germany's Schalke.
Barcelona recognise they have received incredible service from a player who joined them as an 11-year-old and has won just about every honour, including the World Cup, and totted up 101 caps for Spain.
