MANCHESTER, United Kingdom May 18 – Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero believes incoming City manager Pep Guardiola can help the club win their first Champions League trophy.
The Citizens reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time this season, having never progressed past the Last 16 in their last four campaigns.
Guardiola, who previously enjoyed great European success with Barcelona and Bayern Munich, will replace Manuel Pellegrini in July, and Aguero hopes the Spanish mentor can replicate those feats at the Etihad.
“There is a reason that the club invests in important players and then a coach is very important,” Aguero said.
“We hope that Pep adapts to the club and decides how we are going to play. But it is fundamental that next year we advance a bit more.
“Leo Messi has told me he is very impressive and other players with whom I have spoken have said the same. I don’t know him personally so we’ll see after Copa America with Argentina what is going to happen. I will get to know him and he will push us all.
“I think he is a coach who will put a lot of pressure on the players and we need that, so yes. I think the arrival of him not just for me but for other players will be important for club.
“We knew we had a great team but not good enough to earn [a win in the] semi-finals. We played OK in the Champions League with exceptions like Kevin De Bruyne who scored that [winning] goal against Paris Saint-Germain.
“But we didn’t earn the classification and we knew it was an important step to make it to the semi-finals to get an idea of what we will experience next year.
“City is a great team but not up to the level of winning the Champions League.”