Manchester City hopes of signing Lionel Messi dealt blow as Argentine says he is excited about future at Barcelona

Lionel Messi appears to have given Barcelona some encouragement he could stay at the club after admitting he was feeling “excited” about the future after what has been a tough year. The Argentina forward wanted to quit Barcelona last summer after a breakdown in relations with former president Josep Maria Bartomeu only to agree to stay rather than drag the club into a legal fight to force his departure. Messi’s future remains uncertain and Manchester City - who face Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night - have been watching developments with interest amid hope of signing the 33-year-old next summer when his contract expires. He will be free to talk to foreign suitors next month, with City the favourites to sign him if he did leave the Nou Camp. But Messi insists his dispute with Barcelona - which he says impacted his form this season - is behind him and that he is focused on helping the club “through a difficult time”. “Right now I’m feeling good and looking forward to fighting for every competition we have ahead,” he said in an interview with Spanish TV channel La Sexta. “I know the club is in a difficult moment at institutional level and on the pitch and everything surrounding Barça right now is difficult, but I’m feeling excited.” Messi scored his 643rd goal for Barcelona in a 2-2 draw against Valencia on Saturday to equal Pele’s goals record for a single club but has struggled for form this season, as have his side, who trail La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid by eight points. He has nine goals in all competitions this term, five of which have been penalties, and has yet to claim an assist in 13 league games, with the player admitting last summer’s troubles have taken their toll on his form. “Everything that happened before the summer, how the season ended, then the burofax and everything else … I dragged everything into the start of the season a bit,” Messi said. “The truth is right now I’m feeling fine but in the summer I had a very bad time.” Barcelona have elections on January 24 to determine the successor to Bartomeu, who resigned in October, and have been battling financial issues off the pitch. But they are still hoping to strength the team next month, despite those battles, and Eric Garcia’s Manchester City team-mates believe he is heading to Barcelona. Barcelona tried to sign the Spain central defender during the summer transfer window only for a deal to collapse on deadline day after they failed to meet City’s €20 million (£18.3m) pricetag. Pep Guardiola, the City manager, wanted to keep Garcia but the 19-year-old has his heart set on a return to Barcelona and is hoping a deal can finally be struck between the clubs next month. Garcia - who is out of contract at the end of the season - joined City from Barcelona in 2017. Garcia’s determination to join Barcelona is widely accepted in the City dressing room and there is a firm expectation he will return to Spain, even though the club have a series of financial concerns. Barcelona have been looking to offload players to help facilitate a deal. Last month, Barcelona’s players agreed to wage cuts that would save the club €122 million. They also agreed with their players to have about £45m of variable payments deferred over a three-year period. Barcelona’s accounts for 2019/20, published in October, revealed that the club’s net debt had more than doubled to €488 million as they felt the sharp impact of the Covid-19 crisis. Despite his desire to leave, City have had no problems with Garcia and Guardiola continued to select him until a recent injury. The teenager was forced off after 28 minutes of the 3-0 Champions League win over Marseille on December 9 and ruled out for up to three weeks. Football stat collect from isports API, for more details please visit www.isportsapi.com .