Shaun Goater has backed Pep Guardiola to attract the biggest names in football — including Lionel Messi — to the Etihad Stadium next season.

Guardiola, whose Bayern Munich side are top of the Bundesliga and in the Champions League quarter-finals, will succeed Manuel Pellegrini in June and start his task of turning City into one of the powerhouses of European football.

It is understood Guardiola will be handed a £150 million war chest ($215m) to spend on players — and Goater believes Barcelona forward Messi will be at the top of City’s shopping list.

Securing the services of Messi — the world’s best player, who starred under Guardiola at Barcelona — would be the biggest deal in the history of the game.

“Manuel has done a decent job,” Goater told The Daily Star. “He’s seen in a good light and has shown dignity in the way he has handled the situation.

“But this man [Guardiola] is the best in the world. It’s the best transfer deal the club could have ever done getting him in.

“With him in charge, no one is off limits. Not even Lionel Messi. He will want to play under him again and anything is possible.

“In football you can never say never. If you asked me a few years ago if Pep Guardiola would be managing Manchester City then I wouldn’t have believed you.

“Now he can attract the biggest stars in the world and Messi is good friends with Sergio Agüero, so that might also help the situation.”

Goater, who provides analysis for BBC Radio Manchester during City’s home matches, believes Guardiola will immediately re-establish City as the dominant force in English football.

“I think Pep Guardiola is the man to take City to that next level,” said the former Bermuda striker.

“He will win the Champions League. He needs a couple more players, but he will get the team over that line.

“Who would I like to see him sign? It’s an excellent question. All the players he’s managed and coached in the past want to go and play for him again.

“We are talking about players who need to be at that elite level to perform under Guardiola.”

Goater and Paul Dickov, his former strike partner at City, attended the official Barclays Premier League Live event in Cape Town this month.

During the free event, the first to be held in South Africa, Goater and Dickov met with City supporters at a question and answer session.