The Sun claimed on Thursday that City were preparing a big-money move for the Argentine, after comments from Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim.
“Following an article in The Sun newspaper which claimed that Manchester City are preparing a £100m bid for Lionel Messi, the club would like to make the following information clear,” read a statement on the club’s official website.
“The story is untrue and this fact has been accepted by the newspaper in question. General comments about Lionel Messi, made by Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim, who holds no position at the club, were mistakenly linked to Manchester City.
“The article was printed in error and an apology to His Highness Sheikh Mansour, Chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak and Dr Sulaiman Al-Fahim and a correction in Saturday’s edition of the newspaper will follow.”
