Man City are champions, Arsenal step up Rice pursuit and Messi go-ahead: FootballTransfers recap

Tom Weber

• Updated: 20 May 2023 22:07 BST
• 4 min read

An all-action Saturday comes to a close, having delivered some massive news.

Manchester City are champions, Lionel Messi could finally be on his way to Barcelona and Arsenal are getting serious about their transfer business. There's a lot to cover, so let's jump right in.

Exclusive: Arsenal step up Rice pursuit

FootballTransfers can exclusively reveal that Arsenal's pursuit of Declan Rice is becoming increasingly concrete.

Man City win the title

Manchester City were crowned champions for the third consecutive season after Arsenal lost to Nottingham Forest. Gunners fans were fuming!

This triumph has cemented Erling Haaland's place in the annals of history as the player with the best individual season in Premier League history.

Arsenal's historic failure disappointed their fans, including YouTube star KSI who had initially planned something special to commemorate the Gunners' title win.

Arsenal bottling it was a fitting end to a day on which a Premier League-linked wonderkid made fun of the Gunners' lack of title-winning success.

Barcelona get Messi go-ahead

Barcelona have reportedly received the green light from La Liga for their financial viability plan, meaning that Messi could soon be on his way back to the Camp Nou.

Saudi side Al-Hilal do, however, still have an ace up their sleeve in the Messi race.

Transfer news

Finally, let's finish up with some more transfer news. A Premier League star will soon team up with Cristiano Ronaldo at Al-Nassr.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag once again reiterated in what position his side needs bolstering this summer.

Star midfielder Ruben Neves may have already said his goodbyes to Wolves fans.

Liverpool are eyeing a huge move for a Bayern Munich midfielder - and it's not Ryan Gravenberch.

Lautaro Martinez's asking price has been revealed amid interest from Manchester United.

And Fabrizio Romano has reported on some very interesting changes to Manchester United's transfer agenda.

This development could jeopardise the future of one of their star midfielders.