Aguero’s Candid Reflections: Messi’s Departure, Barcelona’s ’10’, and a Sudden Farewell

Barcelona’s brief encounter with ‘Kun’ Aguero didn’t unfold as both the player and the fans had hoped. The Argentine football sensation, Manchester City’s all-time top scorer, had wrapped up his tenure with the ‘citizens’ months before, already aware that Pep Guardiola’s side wouldn’t extend his contract. Despite his willingness to stay and contribute, the City informed him of their decision in February 2021:

“In January 2021, City informed me they wouldn’t renew. In February, it was confirmed. I wanted one more year; I was willing to be on the bench. I wasn’t playing much under Pep, but I wanted to help. I felt that staying another year would serve me well physically for the World Cup,” Aguero revealed in an interview with Juan Pablo Varsky on Clank channel. Then came Barcelona’s call:

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“A call from Barça emerged, but they couldn’t match City’s offer. I didn’t mind; I told my agent to handle the negotiations, and it was settled in two days. Once it was confirmed, I spoke with Leo (Messi), imagined playing with him, and then it all unfolded as it did…,” he said, nostalgically recalling the initial setback he faced in his stint as a Culé. ‘Kun,’ always straightforward, delved into his memories of Messi’s departure:

MESSI’S GOODBYE “Leo assured me that it would be sorted out (his renewal with Barça), that he would start training again. I saw the news and thought it was fake. I messaged him, and he said ‘yes.’ I didn’t even know how to respond; I didn’t reply. I saw him the next day, and he was quite upset,” Agüero recounted.

Moreover, the Argentine confessed that the club offered him Messi’s ’10,’ an offer he declined outright: “As soon as Leo left, the club offered me the ’10.’ I told them no. Not because I didn’t want to use it; I had worn the ’10’ at all my clubs… But I believed Messi would come back. I told them to give it to someone else. ‘You’re the only one who can use it, you or Ansu…,’ they said. I told them to give it to Ansu Fati; for me, the ’10’ belongs to Leo. If he’s not here, it shouldn’t be used,” he asserted to the Barcelona authorities, although Ansu Fati eventually inherited the number.

THE RETIREMENT Aguero’s time in Barcelona came to an abrupt end due to a cardiovascular injury that forced him to hang up his boots. On October 30, 2021, at Camp Nou against Alaves, Aguero donned his football kit for the last time:

“As the game was nearing the end, I jumped to head the ball and started looking towards our goal. I began to feel dizzy, wanted to say something, but the words wouldn’t come out. The Alaves defender was right there, and I grabbed his hand, as if to say, ‘Stop the game.’ He started shouting until the referee noticed, and the match was halted,” explained the Argentine to Varsky.

In fact, ‘Kun’ admitted that he had experienced similar episodes when he was younger: “When I fell to the ground, that’s when my blood pressure dropped. And my heart started beating faster. I had had episodes like this when I was little. And a week before, it had happened during training. The doctor told me to relax, that it would stop, but it didn’t. Two minutes felt like 20. I took it as if it would heal, and I spent four days in the hospital, and then the diagnosis…”