Pep Guardiola reveals ‘secret’ that Sergio Aguero ‘is close’ to agreeing switch to Barcelona after tearful Man City boss accepts his Premier League champions ‘CANNOT replace’ striker as he leaves after 10 years and 260 goals
- An emotional Pep Guardiola insisted he ‘cannot replace’ striker Sergio Aguero
- The Argentine scored two to sign off his Manchester City career off in style
- The club’s all-time top scorer will depart when his contract ends in the summer
Pep Guardiola revealed Sergio Aguero is ‘close’ to agreeing a deal to join Barcelona as the emotional Manchester City boss insisted they ‘cannot replace’ the departing striker.
The Argentine, who will leave City after 10 years in the summer when his contract ends, signed off in style with two goals in a 5-0 victory over Everton as he lifted his fifth Premier League trophy.
Speaking to the BBC following City’s Premier League trophy lift, Guardiola revealed: ‘Maybe he’s close to agreeing a deal with the club of my heart, Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola revealed Sergio Aguero is ‘close’ to agreeing a deal to join Barcelona
Pep Guardiola gave emotional tribute to Sergio Aguero after he played his last game for club
‘He’s going to play alongside the best player of all-time, Leo Messi. I’m pretty sure he’s going to enjoy and make my club Barcelona stronger and stronger.’
The revelation followed an emotional tribute to Aguero, as a teary Spaniard told Sky Sports: ‘We love him so much. He is a special person for all of us. He is so nice, he is so nice. He helped me a lot, he’s so good.
Aguero’s 260 goals for City make him by far and away their leading scorer and despite allowing him to move on, Guardiola said his qualities as a player and person will be impossible to replicate in the future.
‘We cannot replace him. We cannot.
‘They are many players we have had to discard like him, Joe Hart and David Silva, who have helped us this club to be what it is.
‘He came on today showed his quality for 30 minutes.
Following the emotional interview, pundits Micah Richards and Jamie Redknapp said it shows how much Guardiola cares about his players while hailing Aguero’s two-goal display as the perfect send-off.
Guardiola says ‘special’ Aguero will be impossible for Manchester City to replace him
‘People question Pep’s sentiment at times, but there’s all the sentiment you need what you’ve just seen there,’ Richards said.
Redknapp was of similar feeling, adding: ‘He cares. You can see he cares about his players and you don’t create an atmosphere and an environment at a football club unless you care about your players and that’s why they love,
‘They’ll run through brick walls for him.
‘He’s been an absolute legend Sergio Aguero. I’m so pleased he’s gone out the way he has today.’
The club’s all-time top scorer signed off his City career in style with two goals against Everton
He was given an emotional farewell after helping the club win five Premier League titles
While it is City’s fifth Premier League title, it was Guardiola’s third in five seasons at the club in what was arguably his most impressive after a slow start to the season.
The 50-year-old signed a new two-year deal with the club in November at a time that coincided with City’s return to form and a game winning streak between December and March.
When asked if his new deal helped settle his players and inspire them to the title, Guardiola said: ‘I don’t know how the players felt but if they know there is stability for the next few years and it will be the same, maybe it helped.
‘Maybe we showed that the next season we are the same people, we are working together.
‘They realise that with this f***ing manager we will stay the next year and that is why they thought “OK, keep running, keep fighting”.’