Five potential destinations for Sergio Aguero – from Barcelona to Chelsea

Robin Bairner

• Updated: 19 May 2021 15:43 BST
• 5 min read

It’s official: Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero will depart the club in the summer when his contract expires.

Aguero will depart the Etihad Stadium a legend. No foreign player has scored more goals in the Premier League. No player has scored more hat-tricks in a competition widely regarded as the finest domestic league in the world.

Man City are determined that the Argentine will finish with a flourish. While that likely means another league title, it will not be as dramatically secured as the 2011-12 crown, in which Aguero scored a decisive 94th-minute goal to whisk the crown away from Manchester United and into the hands of City for the first time in 44 years.

It may be goodbye to Man City, but it will not be goodbye to football.

At 32, Aguero has life in him yet, despite a complicated season hindered by injury and illness.

Which team will Sergio Aguero sign for?

Barcelona

Perhaps the favourite destination of Aguero is Barcelona, where international colleague Lionel Messi currently plies his trade. Indeed, he is a player who fits the DNA of the Catalan side and will come highly recommended by Man City boss Pep Guardiola.

Furthermore, Aguero is likely to fit into Barcelona’s economic plans. With the club in financial strife, free transfers are set to be the target over the course of the summer months. There is no better No.9 on the free transfer market this summer than ‘El Kun’.

Would a deal for Aguero step on the toes of a potential transfer for Lyon’s Memphis Depay? Probably not as the Dutchman’s versatility means he can play in a deeper or wider role.

With Aguero and Depay both available, Barca would suddenly look a more formidable side altogether – and that would appeal to Messi, whose own future is complicated.

Chelsea

Reports from the Daily Mail earlier in March suggest that Chelsea are interested in the veteran forward.

Olivier Giroud and Tammy Abraham are both likely on their way out of Stamford Bridge this summer, which could create a void in the No.9 role. Timo Werner is capable of filling it, but an additional body is needed and Aguero may be that man.

With Chelsea favouring a patient build up under Thomas Tuchel – not entirely dissimilar to the style employed by Pep Guardiola are Man City – a move for Aguero suddenly does not seem so far fetched.

However, Erling Haaland is reportedly the Blues’ long-term target. If he is unattainable this summer, though, Aguero could be seen as a stop-gap option.

Manchester United

A possibility that will surely not come to fruition is a move across the city to Man Utd.

While this is a deal that Aguero is unlikely to want, Red Devils legend Paul Ince believes it is a possibility.

Speaking to Ladbrokes, he said: “You could see it now; if he wanted to stay in the Premier League and he’s living in Manchester, then I don’t think it would be a bad thing at all if they went and got Aguero.

“It can happen, who knows? You’ve got to ask the question if you’re United because you never know.”

It would be astonishing if this were Aguero’s choice.

Juventus

If Aguero wants to challenge himself in a different league, Juventus is an option that is open to him.

Juve did try to move for Aguero in 2011 but were priced out of a deal by Man City.

Sportmediaset have reported that the Turin giants are interested in the forward once more, and indeed they may well be in the market for a No.9 come the summer given that there is no guarantee that Alvaro Morata’s loan from Atletico Madrid will be extended.

Furthermore, Juventus are another side troubled by financial issues and the prospect of picking up a potentially world-class performer on a free transfer is one that they surely must consider.

PSG

Another possibility on the continent is Paris Saint-Germain, where Aguero reportedly has a big fan in the form of head coach Mauricio Pochettino.

“There is a player he likes a lot, and that he would like to have at PSG, and who will be free next July, it is Kun Aguero,” agent Bruno Satin told Canal+ as early as January.

So the coach likes Aguero, but is their space in PSG’s ranks? Perhaps not at the moment, but it could emerge.

Mauro Icardi is being linked with a move back to Serie A, while Moise Kean’s stay at the club is not definitive as PSG don’t have a purchase option in the loan they have agreed with Everton.

However, the Parisians are being linked with a raft of attackers, with their clear objective to lure Lionel Messi from Barcelona.