EXCLUSIVE: Aguero has admitted that he wanted to do one more season at the Etihad before leaving, but understands why the club made the decision that they did
Comments
Sport
Aguero has admitted he wanted one more season at Manchester City
Aguero has admitted he wanted one more season at Manchester City(Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Sergio Aguero has revealed that he wanted to stay at Manchester City even to just play a bit-part from the bench.
City’s all-time top goalscorer left the Blues to join Barcelona in the summer of 2021 after it was revealed that the club would not be offering him an extension on his current deal. Aguero played just 12 times in the Premier League in his final campaign with the club as injuries ravished his playing time - and that was enough for City to decide they needed to freshen up.
Article continues below
But the Argentinian has now revealed that he was desperate to stay at City. He was told one month before it was announced that he would be leaving that the club were considering their options. He said: “I had the contract until 2021 and Manchester City, five or six months before, told me that they weren't going to renew me. So I started looking for a club and that's how it was.
“Obviously, I wanted to continue because for me, City was my home. I wanted maybe one more year especially because I was willing to be on the bench if necessary.
“In the last year I had already been playing occasionally with Pep, so I was willing to help from another side because I felt that staying one more year in the Premier League, even from the bench and playing little, would serve me physically for the World Cup.
“But you have to understand that the club also needed changes. It was a decision of the club and I think it was also very correct, because they also needed a replacement and maybe staying at City to be there as a substitute wasn't the right thing for the club. So the best thing was to look for a club and that's how it was. It was their decision and I obviously took it very well.”
Aguero's playing time at City was gradually reduced prior to his exit
Aguero's playing time at City was gradually reduced prior to his exit
Aguero would go on to join his good friend Lionel Messi at Barcelona - a move that Aguero believed would be ideal for him as he looked to cement his place in Argentina’s squad for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. From there, he was looking to return to his hometown team of Independiente for the final year or two of his career.
He had instructed his agent to make the move to Barcelona under any circumstances, even if it meant taking a massive pay cut. “A call came where my agent told me Barça asked if I was willing to go there, but economically they couldn't pay what City paid me,” Aguero said. “I said ‘well, it doesn't matter to me’.
“I knew what City paid wouldn't be matched by any big team due to my age, so I said ‘let them put whatever numbers they want and try to sort it out’. That's what I told my agent and things got sorted very quickly.
Aguero during the recent Formula E Evo Sessions event
Aguero during the recent Formula E Evo Sessions event(Image: 2025 Formula E)
“When it was almost agreed, I told Leo and he was happy and well then everything happened as it did. What can you do? I was excited to play with him, but football is like that and things happen that you have to accept.”
Messi would announce his departure from Barcelona later that summer. For Aguero, further disaster struck when he was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia following an on-pitch episode, just four games into his time at the Nou Camp. After discussions with doctors, he tearfully admitted that he had to retire.
He has since turned to entrepreneurship and recently revealed that he has opened discussions over starting a new team in Formula E. He got behind one of their race cars at an event last month in Miami.
Sergio Aguero is taking part in Formula E's Evo Sessions. Follow his journey across social media @fiaformulae