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“I Thought He Didn’t Like Me” – Sergio Aguero on Pep Guardiola & His Relationship With Manchester City Boss

Published 02/06/2024, 11:55 PM EST

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At first our relationship was very good“, said Sergio Aguero regarding his bond with coach Pep Guardiola. However, as per Man City’s highest-ever goalscorer, the relationship between the two did turn ‘sour‘ at some point. Perhaps this might even have led to the Argentine not fulfilling his promise to the Cityzens.

In a recent interview, the man with 184 Premier League Goals spoke about his up-down relationship with the Manchester City boss. Aguero said the duo got along well at the start. However, the problems came later as per the striker. He said, (translated via DeepL) “Then we started talking a lot, especially because of the pressure.” The striker revealed that it eventually led to a lot of tense moments, which made him go crazy. However, he clearly remembers the moment which caused tension in their relationship.

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The center forward revealed, “In a game against Stoke City, I scored two goals and in the conference, he (Guardiola) said something like: I like Agüero to score goals, but I want him to work more for the team.” This did not impress the club legend, and he even went on to have a straightforward talk with Pep Guardiola.

Aguero revealed, “I asked him why he didn’t tell me and he apologized to me because he didn’t realize. Game after game we tried to find a way for me to increase the pressure.” For the now-retired striker, this was mentally demanding. Aguero said, “I thought he didn’t like me, but in reality he was the coach doing what he thought was right.” However, the Argentine quickly realized the truth. As per Aguero, “I think today it’s not a question of whether he liked me or not, it was just that it didn’t serve his ideas and we had to respect that.”

Toward the end of his Manchester City career, Aguero was repeatedly not picked in the starting XI and fell behind Gabriel Jesus in the pecking order. Although disappointing for Aguero, this was a fair decision by Pep Guardiola and the star himself recognizes so.

Aguero explains the ‘Pep Guardiola rule’ that saw Gabriel Jesus preferred ahead of him

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The Argentine had once famously promised to not leave Manchester City until he won the Champions League with them. However, he could not fulfill it as the club opted not to renew his contract. And the reason being his injury issues. Pep Guardiola had very strict rules regarding fitness, and Aguero explained this via Twitch. He said, “If your ideal weight is 79-80kg and you were 80 kilos and 100 grams you would be fined and you would not play.”

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In his 5 seasons with the Spanish boss, Sergio Aguero started more than 25 league games in just two of those. His fitness issues worsened in the final season when he made just 12 league appearances. By this time, Gabriel Jesus was firmly the preferred attacker to lead the line and Aguero’s time at the Etihad was all but over.

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What do you think of Aguero’s comments? Tell us below.

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Written by:

Adithya Narayanan

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One take at a time

Soccer was the first sport I played in my life. It turned out to be my favorite one by an absolute mile. In my younger days, I became a Liverpool fan but it was only when Jurgen Klopp arrived that my passion for the game intensified.
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Edited by:

Daniel D'Cruz