Sergio Aguero reveals surprise reason he didn't want Lionel Messi's iconic No 10 shirt at Barcelona

Sergio Aguero was offered the number 10 shirt by Barcelona when Lionel Messi left the club, but he turned it down.

The 35-year-old former Argentina international, who announced his decision to retire in late 2021 due to a heart condition, has recently opened up on his move to Barcelona.

After being told about Manchester City's stance on a contract renewal, Aguero says he wanted to stay in England, despite their willingness to let him leave on a free transfer.

“In January 2021 City told me that they were not going to renew my contract," he told Juan Pablo Varsky on the Clank channel via SPORT.

"In February they confirmed it to me. I wanted one more year, I was willing to be on the bench. I had been playing little with Pep, but I wanted to help."

Barca eventually convinced him to join after Aguero was "assured" by Messi that he would stay at the Camp Nou, despite rumours of a potential exit.

“Leo assured me that it was going to be fixed (his renewal with Barça), that he was going to start training," Aguero added.

"I saw the news and I thought it was a fake. I wrote to him and he said ‘yes’. I didn’t even know what to answer him, I didn’t answer him anymore.

"I saw him the next day and he was pretty bad.”

Not long after arriving at the Catalan club, Aguero would wave goodbye to his friend after Messi penned a two-year deal at Paris Saint-Germain worth £25 million per year after tax.

Image credit: Getty

Soon after, Aguero was offered Messi's iconic number 10 shirt but the former Atletico Madrid striker turned it down as he believed his friend would eventually return.

He said: “As soon as Leo left, the club offered me the ’10’, I told them no. No. because I didn’t want to use it, I had been the ’10’ in all my clubs. But I believed that Messi was going to return. I told them that someone else should use it.

“You are the only one who can use it, you or Ansu… They told me. I told them to give it to Ansu Fati, for me the ’10’ is Leo’s, if he’s not there, don’t use it."

Topics: Lionel Messi, Argentina, Sergio Aguero, Barcelona

Jack Kenmare

Senior Journalist at SPORTbible with a passion for long-form journalism. Almost 10 years’ experience across online and print.

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