Sergio Aguero is said to be unhappy with how his Manchester City exit has been handled by Pep Guardiola, sportsmail reports.
City’s record goalscorer bid farewell to the Etihad on Sunday after 10 years at the club, coming off the bench to score twice in the 5-0 victory over Everton.
The brace took him to a club record 260 goals in 10 years at City, and eclipsed Wayne Rooney’s 183 for a single club in the Premier League.
Aguero was given a fitting send-off by his team-mates and Guardiola, who paid tribute to the striker in an emotional interview with Sky Sports. However, according to The Athletic, Aguero and Guardiola went weeks without speaking in March.
They report that the striker’s problem has been with the manager, who made the decision not to offer him a new contract this summer.
Sources close to Aguero say he has been left hurt by the way his departure has been handled or the fact that he has to leave at all.
It is also claimed that the pair were not on speaking terms in the weeks following the confirmation of his exit back in March.
The striker is also said to have been fit enough to play in recent weeks, despite not making the squad for four of City’s last seven league games.
Despite their apparent differences in the last few months, the pair embraced one another during City’s title celebrations on Sunday.
Guardiola became visibly emotional when speaking to Sky Sports about Aguero’s departure, insisting City will never be able to replace him.
“We love him so much,’ the teary-eyed manager said. ‘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.
“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.’
The City boss also revealed Aguero is close to joining Lionel Messi at Barcelona.
Speaking to the BBC, Guardiola said: ‘Maybe he’s close to agreeing a deal with the club of my heart, Barcelona.
“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.”
