Manchester City are thought to have decided against making an offer to Barcelona superstar Lionel Messi this summer, believing instead that the six-time Ballon d’Or is destined to sign a new contract with Barça.

Messi is nearing the end of his current Barcelona contract and would be able to leave the club as a free agent in June if it expires without being renewed. He wanted to walk away last summer, only to be blocked by the club, but will make a fresh decision on his future this year.

Barcelona’s decline, peaking with an 8-2 humiliation in the Champions League at the hands of Bayern Munich, had led Messi to try and trigger a clause allowing him to break his contract a year early. But the club hierarchy stood in his way, insisting that the clause was invalid. The only way to break the impasse was through the courts and Messi refused to engage in a petty legal battle.

Josep Maria Bartomeu stepped down as president, seemingly removing one of the main problems, and Messi opted to give it one more year with an open mind before deciding what to do.

Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain have been the clubs most heavily linked with the 33-year-old. The latter have been quite open and public with their interest, which may not serve them too well, while the Premier League side had been more patient and relaxed.

However, Messi, despite his reputation, has never been the priority for City. 90min revealed in February that while the club would be happy to sign him, a new ‘number nine’ striker has always been the main target ahead of next season – Erling Haaland is the priority, but Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane have also been linked with potential transfers.

SPORT now reports that desire to prioritise a striker is one of the two main factors that has motivated City not to put forward an offer to Messi, who is already permitted to negotiate a pre-contract agreement with potential suitors but has refused to exercise that right.

City’s interest in Messi has therefore ended up fading as they look for a striker first and foremost.

The other factor is a belief among the City hierarchy that Messi will end up signing a new contract with Barcelona and committing himself to the fresh chapter at Camp Nou instead. City would consider it a waste of time and inappropriate to pursue the player without any proper indication of being successful and that stance would only change if Messi makes it clear he is interested.

New Barcelona president Joan Laporta, whose first term as president coincided with Messi’s first-team breakthrough more than 15 years ago, is also confident a new contract will be agreed.

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