Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has said he will not be joining Real Madrid and will only leave the Premier League club to return to Independiente.
Aguero, 28, has long been linked with a move to Madrid, with manager Zinedine Zidane viewing the Argentine as an upgrade on his current central striker options of Karim Benzema and Alvaro Morata.
Despite his position as City’s first-choice centre forward, Aguero’s future under Pep Guardiola was called into question last month after he was dropped for the league draw against Everton and the Uefa Champions League defeat at Barcelona. Aguero, who started his career at Independiente, has since responded with three goals in his last three matches.
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Speaking about his City future and the reports linking him with Madrid, Aguero told ESPN Radio FC: "I never had problems with Guardiola, nor him with me. He always helped me and gave me advice.
“For now I’m fine at Manchester City, and the day I leave it will be to return to Independiente.
“How long have there been rumours about Real Madrid?”
Unconfirmed reports claimed Guardiola’s unhappiness at Aguero’s work rate was the reason for his demotion to the bench, although the Spaniard was quick to stress Aguero’s importance to his team.
“We need him,” Guardiola said. “Without him we cannot achieve our target, it is impossible.”
And it seems the relationship between player and manager is working just fine, despite reports to the contrary.
“I’m very happy at City and more so now with Pep,” Aguero said.
“Guardiola tells me to try not to pay so much attention to what is said. He makes me focus on winning.
“This month I’ve been thinking very positively. In the last few weeks my head has changed a lot.
“After the game with Paraguay, I was emotionally very bad. Guardiola helped me a lot.”
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