Manuel Pellegrini has insisted that Manchester City boast the profile needed to attract some of football's biggest names.

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola are two high-profile figures who have found themselves regularly linked with a spell at the Etihad, with the latter reportedly poised to succeed the Chilean come the end of the season.

The Sky Blues pulled off a club-record £56m deal for playmaker Kevin De Bruyne during the summer, having also signed winger Raheem Sterling for £49m, but Pellegrini says that the competitive marketplace is making it tougher to snap up big-name talent.

"If you want to be the most important people in football or one of the most important, you must be able to bring all the best players here," he told reporters.

"We are always trying to do it but it is not easy because there are a lot of clubs, five or six, that can do it also.

"That depends on the style, in the work but it is important not to give advantage in the options you have to buy those players."

Pellegrini's troops sit top of the Premier League, above Leicester City on goal difference.