MANCHESTER CITY are ready to break the world transfer record and meet Lionel Messi’s £275million buy-out clause, according to reports in France.

Neymar became football’s costliest player when he left the Nou Camp to join Paris Saint-Germain for £198m.

And Yahoo Sport France report the £100m and £200m barrier could be breached in the same summer — as City try to lure Messi to the Etihad.

Barca are reeling from a disastrous summer. The have lost the player they were planning to build their future around after PSG took them by surprise and met Neymar’s staggering buy-out clause.

That they replaced him with Paulinho showed how far they’ve fallen as just 2,000 fans turned up to watch the former Tottenham man’s presentation.

Barcelona had to watch arch-rivals Real Madrid win La Liga and the Champions League last season using the model which proved so successful for the Catalans.

And Los Blancos proved their dominance with a 5-1 aggregate victory in the Spanish Super Cup.

Furthermore, Andres Iniesta has revealed he is considering his future, with his current deal running out in the summer — and no new offer on the table.

Now they face the very real possibility of losing Messi after it was revealed the Argentina superstar has NOT yet signed his contract extension.

Speculation of a move to the Etihad has grown after it was revealed he had followed the Premier League side’s official Instagram account.

Meanwhile, Neymar marked his home debut with two goals as PSG came from behind to beat Toulouse 6-2 at the Parc des Princes to go top of Ligue 1.

The Brazilian forward made it three goals in two games for his new club following his world record arrival from Barcelona.