Guardiola hopes Aguero stays at City
manchester — Pep Guardiola does not want Sergio Aguero to leave Manchester City and has told the Argentina striker he can remain with the Premier League champions for as long as he wants.
Reports from Spain suggest Aguero’s former club Atletico Madrid are keen to re-sign him before next season. Aguero’s relationship with Guardiola has been the subject of some debate after reports of clashes between the pair in the past.
But the City manager will offer Atletico no encouragement, as long as Aguero — who turns 30 next month — wishes to stay with the team for whom he has scored a club-record 199 goals. “I think it’s not going to happen. My desire is it will not happen, but I don’t know,” said Guardiola of Atletico’s reported interest.
“It’s happened many times in these press conferences and I said maybe a thousand times — Sergio is going to stay until he decides his time is over.
“I said it last season and this season many times and I say it today. That’s why I say it isn’t going to happen, but in football you never know.”
City signed Aguero from Atletico in 2011 and he has been one of the key components of the club’s successes, which now include three Premier League titles.
Although sidelined with a knee injury, Aguero is poised to return to fitness in time for the World Cup and is under contact with City until 2020.
He has publicly stated he intends to return to Argentina and play for boyhood club Independiente once his time with City is up.
Guardiola, who travels to Southampton for the champions’ final game of the season on Sunday, was also relaxed about reports that England forward Raheem Sterling has decided to delay contract negotiations with the club until after the World Cup.
“The club, the chairman and myself, we all want him to stay a long time, renew his contract,” said Guardiola.
“But we are going on holiday in a few days. We all want him to stay as long as possible.”