Aguero turned down bumper Juventus contract to play with Messi at Barcelona

Martin Macdonald

• 2 Jun 2021 16:13 BST
• 5 min read

Sergio Aguero allegedly turned down a lucrative offer from Serie A giants Juventus in order to sign for Barcelona for much less money, according to reports from Spain.

Aguero has been one of the most devastating forwards in Europe over the past 10 years and is now the top goalscorer in the the history of Man City, having netted 260 times for the club since his move from Atletico Madrid in 2011.

READ MORE: Three signings in three days: How transformed Barca are shaping up for 2020/21

However, over the past 18 months he has succumbed to a number of injuries which have left him without much game time, leaving manager Pep Guardiola to rely on Gabriel Jesus and attacking midfielders stepping into the centre-forward role.

In the 2020/21 season he started just eight games in all competitions and seven in the Premier League, scoring six goals in that time.

Before the end of the campaign, Man City announced they would not be renewing Aguero’s contract which is set to expire at the end of June.

He became free to talk to other clubs in January about a summer transfer and eventually cash-strapped Barcelona made him on offer.

How much is Aguero being paid at Barcelona?

Barcelona are currently in a financial crisis, and although they have signed three players in the last three days in Aguero, Eric Garcia and Emerson Royal, the two Man City players were brought in on free transfers.

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A post shared by Sergio Leonel Agüero (@kunaguero)

Aguero reportedly earned around €23 million per season at Manchester City, and, as reported by Mundo Deportivo, he will receive a drastically reduced salary of €6m per season at Barcelona.

Though Man City were apparently not willing to keep Aguero on at such a high salary, the report by Mundo Deportivo details that there was another team who offered the Argentine massive wages.

Juventus were the team in question and allegedly campaigned for Aguero to move to Italy, where they are able to pay footballers exorbitant wages due to the tax regulations in the country.

However, Aguero would turn down the Bianconeri as it has reportedly been a dream of his to play for Barcelona as well as link up with international team-mate and friend Lionel Messi at Camp Nou.

In addition to his basic wages, though, Aguero’s contract is highly incentivised, meaning that if he scores a certain amount or helps the club to a trophy, for example, he is in line for significant bonuses.