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Claims that Lionel Messi could sign for Man City this summer could back fire on the English club with Barcelona set to make a move for Sergio Aguero.

Madrid based media El Confidencial reported on Wednesday that Manchester City were in initial talks with Lionel Messi's father, Jorge, about a possible £250m move but the Catalan club are keen to extend Messi's deal.

President Josep Maria Bartomeu has claimed Messi will become the world's "highest paid player" and that negotiations are ongoing, whilst Barca's number 10 has always reiterated his desire to retire at the club.

Whilst a deal looks unlikely, Barca have reacted by showing interest in Man City forward Sergio Aguero as they look to freshen up their team for next season.

And, [football] direct news understands that Barca will use Messi's friendship with Aguero to entice the Argentine forward to the Nou Camp.

Messi and Aguero go back some way, with Barca's forward being the godfather of Aguero's son and it is thought Aguero would relish a move back to La Liga.

A source close to the club told us: "Barca remain unsure over Pedro/Alexis. It would be something if Messi had Aguero and Neymar playing either side of him.

"Aguero is a great player, he was with Atletico and I am sure he would love to come back to La Liga one day."

Barcelona are also said to be buoyed by the fact that Aguero's agent has recently moved to the Catalan capital.

With the Champions League slowly approaching its business end, the race for the top scorer title is hotting up.

Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo sat top of the goalscoring charts following the group stage with nine strikes, but last week Zlatan Ibrahimovic leapfrogged him with a double in Paris Saint-Germain's 4-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen.

Ronaldo and Madrid are yet to play the first leg of the last 16, though, so the Portuguese has the chance to add to his tally in Wednesday's away game against Schalke.

Elsewhere, Lionel Messi has not given up on the Champions League Golden Boot. The Argentine currently sits on seven goals, with Barcelona all but through to the quarter-finals at the expense of Manchester City.

The Premier League giants have two candidates for the top scorer title in the form of Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo, but both will have to be at their best in the second leg at Barca if they are to overturn a 2-0 deficit and threaten Ibrahimovic.

Another striker who will still be dreaming of challenging for top spot is Atletico Madrid's Diego Costa, who has now netted five times following his winner against AC Milan last week.

Additionally, outsiders such as Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund), Edinson Cavani (PSG) and Thomas Muller (Bayern Munich) are all still in contention, but will have to find their scoring touch in the next few games if they are to have a realistic shot at the Champions League Golden Boot.