Aguero thought Messi's Barcelona exit was a 'joke' & club had been 'hacked'

• Formed a partnership for Argentina
• Aguero wanted to play with Messi at Barca
• But didn't play a competitive match with him

WHAT HAPPENED? The Manchester City legend had high hopes for his move to Camp Nou as he agreed to play alongside his international teammate in June 2021. However, just a few weeks later it was announced that Messi was leaving Barca, which came as a huge shock to Aguero. The Argentine went on to play just five matches for the Blaugrana as he was forced into early retirement due to a heart condition.

WHAT HE SAID: In conversation with El Chiringuito's Jose Alvarez, he discussed the departure of his great friend. He said: “When the whole thing with Leo happened, I thought someone must have hacked Barcelona’s social media accounts. I thought, this is a joke. I was with [Twitch host] Ibai drinking mate and all of a sudden… he looked at the phone and exclaimed: “No way! is this true?” He showed me the phone with the statement from Barça.

“I said, ‘Ibai, mate, this is impossible’. I told him right there and then that it was obvious that the website had been hacked and that it was probably just a bit of sweet talk from Barça who would later say that he’s staying. “I decided to wait, but the hours went by and I saw that the statement was still there. Suddenly, I thought, ‘Hey, you know what? no one has hacked it.''

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi's exit shook the club to its foundations and, while there are rumours that he may return under Xavi, the Spanish giants are yet to fully recover from his exit. Messi, who joined Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Camp Nou, is under contract at Parc des Princes until June 2023.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty Images

Getty Images

Getty Images

WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI AND BARCELONA? The Argentine will be back in action with PSG when they take on Maccabi Haifa in the Champions League on Tuesday. Barcelona will also be in European action this week against Bayern Munich, but will exit the competition if they fail to pick up three points at Camp Nou.