City will open up with a £15million bid for the want-away Arsenal star.
But a Barca source said: “We expect a very hot summer in the transfer market.”
Van Persie, who scored 37 times last season, has decided against signing a new deal with the Gunners. Premier League champions City are favourites to land him, but will not pay more than £20m for a player who is 28 and injury prone.
Barcelona and PSG are also in the race with Manchester United and Juventus both monitoring the situation.
Money is no object to PSG, backed by their Qatari owners, while Barca are prepared to sell David Villa to finance their bid.
Barca are hopeful that Van Persie’s friendship with Cesc Fabregas will swing the deal their way.
City have infuriated Arsenal by declaring their interest in Van Persie with the Gunners convinced their representatives have already spoken with RVP’s Dutch agent Kees Vos.
They believe that could constitute an illegal approach. And Kolo Toure has also annoyed his old club by urging Van Persie to join him at City.
The Ivorian defender, who joined City for £16m in 2009, is one of four ex-Arsenal players already on City’s books.
Toure said: “He’s a top player. If Robin comes it would be great because I know what he can do.”
Van Persie is frustrated at Arsenal’s failure to win a trophy for seven years — and Toure insists City will be competing for honours for a long time.
He said: “City can stay at the top for many years.
“We can compete with teams like Barcelona and Real Madrid. We have so many fantastic players who can help us do this.”
Toure’s comments will be carefully studied by the Arsenal board. They are determined to make it as difficult as possible for their captain to join Toure, Samir Nasri, Gael Clichy and Emmanuel Adebayor at City.
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