Messi committed his future to Barcelona last month after months of speculation. 

His previous deal ran out in the coming summer and he was free to discuss terms with other clubs from January.

And Marca claim Manchester City made their offer earlier and signalled their intentions to take him to England.

It is claimed he was offered a stunning £88.5m (€100M) signing on fee and an annual wage of £44m (€50m).

Barca were aware of City’s interest and knew they had to match the financial offer on the table.

And they negotiated three separate contracts to get it sorted: one for his image rights, one for charity and one for his basic salary.

And that was enough to convince Messi to stay and turn down the chance of reuniting with Pep Guardiola at City.

But it has crippled Barcelona financially with Messi’s new wage the same as the cost of ALL THREE of Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in 2014.

But the club knew they had to get the contract signed after the departure of Neymar in the summer.

The Brazil star left in the summer after PSG paid his £200m released clause.

The thought of losing both players was too much for Barca and Messi’s release clause was extended to €700m.

Messi has been on fire this season, scoring 13 goals in 14 La Liga games as Barcelona lead Valencia by five points.

Barcelona are already eight points clear of rivals Real Madrid and look certain for the title.