Billion reasons Pep won’t buy

PEP GUARDIOLA’S hopes of landing Barcelona wonderkid Gavi have cooled with a new deal in the melting pot.

It will include a one billion Euro release clause for the 17-year-old.

Or just £860million to you, me... or Manchester City.

The cash-strapped La Liga club are pulling out all the stops to keep Gavi (right) at the Nou

Camp after earlier contract talks stalled, alerting

City and

Liverpool.

Barcelona are deep in debt and Gavi’s advisers led by agent Ivan de la Pena, the club’s former midfielder, were disappointed.

The offer from the Nou Camp was what they considered to be derisory with the teenager’s present agreement now in its final year.

That put Gavi firmly on City’s radar but Barcelona have upped their offer and are determined to tie him down on a six-year contract with an extraordinary kicker.

Gavi had a £43m release clause in the first two years of his deal but that has now expired and the clause has soared through the roof to £860m.

That is off-the-scale money for the playmaker who is still developing, but Guardiola believes Gavi can mature into one of the world’s best.

Barcelona know that too and are speaking to

Gavi’s management team about the €1billion trigger – the biggest in football history.

If Gavi signs it will put him out of the reach of even the world’s wealthiest clubs such as City and Paris Saintgermain.

Barcelona want Gavi to be the face of their future – and have made him the poster boy for a new all-gold away kit, which is a nod to the 1992 Olympics held in the city.