Premise: At least that's the verdict of Robinho, who's revealed Sky Blues owner Sheikh Mansour talked up signing the Argentine when he arrived at the Etihad. Messi has established a reputation as one of the world's best ever players as he's written his name into Barcelona's history books. In recent years a potential move away from the Nou Camp has been mooted though, with City seen as his most likely destination if he does leave Spain. Robinho has now revealed City had already set their sights on getting Messi on-board almost a decade ago.
Hypothesis: Messi's reputation is that of one of the world's best players