DEAL PEP IN

become European champions next month.

There have been suggestions that Guardiola will walk away if he lifts the Champions League for the first time as a manager without having Lionel Messi in his team.

But Guardiola believes the team he has built is yet to peak.

City are closing in on Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland (below) and a huge part of the negotiations that have taken place with the Norwegian’s father Alfie involved the future of Guardiola.

Daily Star Sunday revealed in February that former City star Alfie was taking a more hands-on role in brokering his son’s next move.

City have informed Dortmund they are willing to trigger Haaland’s £63million release clause after being assured that the player sees the opportunity to work under Guardiola too good to refuse.

The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss, 51, has brought unprecedented pulling power to City during his six years with the club.

And Blues bosses are now so confident that he will stay beyond 2023 that the groundwork on identifying a potential successor remains on the back-burner.

A deal with Haaland has been agreed in principle after he realised that a move to The Etihad would be better for his development than joining Real Madrid.

Real need to rebuild their squad while La Liga has also lost some of its lustre after Messi followed Cristiano Ronaldo out of Spain.

Haaland, 21, has designs on winning the Ballon d’Or as well as the game’s top trophies.

City have been searching for a world-class striker for the last three years after it became clear that the clock was ticking on Sergio Aguero’s career.

Guardiola was able to win the title for the third time in four years last season despite Aguero’s struggles with injuries and illness but he was hugely frustrated by his club’s failure to force through a deal for Tottenham’s Harry Kane last summer.

City have made it clear to him that they would bring in the goalscorer he needs at the end of the season – and are prepared to hand Haaland, who scored a hat-trick yesterday, a big signingon fee and wages that will match £400,000-a-week top earner Kevin De Bruyne.

City could raise over £100m in the summer by selling Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling.

Jesus is wanted by Arsenal but City value him at around £40m.

And England ace Sterling’s future is set to be decided at the end of the season as his current contract moves into its final 12 months.