Sergio Aguero retires and Barcelona want Man City's Ferran Torres to replace him
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Manchester City forward Ferran Torres is expecting Barcelona to make a formal offer for his services as the Catalan giants look to find a replacement for Sergio Aguero.
A tearful Aguero, who left City for Barcelona in the summer, confirmed his retirement from football on Wednesday, at the age of 33, due to a heart condition.
Torres is keen to return to Spain and Telegraph Sport understands Barcelona are promising him a major role in their rebuild under new manager Xavi Hernandez.
The 21 year-old is not unhappy in Manchester and has enjoyed working with Pep Guardiola, but he has struggled for regular game-time since joining from Valencia in August 2020.
Despite not being a guaranteed starter for City, Torres has emerged as a key player for the Spain national team. He has scored 12 goals in 22 matches for his country and played a starring role at this summer’s European Championship.
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There is uncertainty over how any possible deal would be financed, however, with Barcelona’s well-publicised off-field issues presenting a major obstacle. City would want a package worth at least £50 million for the player, who cost them an initial £20.9m, rising to £31.8m.
A summer transfer is therefore seen as more likely than a move in January, although Aguero’s retirement could present Barcelona with more financial flexibility in the coming weeks.
Joan Laporta, the Barcelona president, said earlier this month that, “at the moment”, Barcelona did not have the “salary margin” to reinforce the squad.
That could change, though, with the retirement of Aguero and other possible departures from the first-team squad. Ousmane Dembele’s current contract expires at the end of this season, while star midfielder Frenkie de Jong has been linked with a series of leading sides. De Jong’s father said this week that “the five top European clubs have all called”.
Ferran Reverter, the Barcelona chief executive, and Mateu Alemany, their director of football, visited City’s training ground late last month for talks with the Premier League club’s hierarchy. There is a strong relationship between the two clubs as Guardiola, Txiki Begiristain, City’s director of football, and City chief executive Ferran Soriano all worked with Laporta earlier in their careers.
Any departure would have to be on City’s terms, with Guardiola already short of options in a central striking position. Torres, who has been injured since October with a broken foot, is a more natural winger but has been used as a centre-forward in England, where he has scored 16 goals in 43 games.
City view Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland as their top target for the striker position and the long-term replacement for Aguero, who left Manchester in the summer. Haaland’s agent, Mino Raila, has suggested City would be Haaland’s destination if the Norwegian chooses to move to the Premier League.
Aguero announced his retirement in a press conference at the Nou Camp, which was attended by Guardiola and other representatives of the striker’s previous clubs.
Aguero had experienced chest pains and breathing difficulties during a draw with Alaves in October, when he fell to the ground clutching his chest. He has since been diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia.
"It is a very difficult moment,” he said. “The decision I have made I have taken for my health, that is the main reason, because of the problem that I had a month-and-a-half ago.
"I was in the good hands of the medical staff who have done their best and have told me the best thing would be to stop playing. So I made that decision about a week ago and I want to tell everyone I did everything possible to have hope, but there wasn't very much."
Aguero, who joined City in 2011 and became the club’s all-time top scorer, is the fourth-highest scorer in the Premier League with 184 goals in 275 games. He scored at a rate of one goal every 108 minutes in the English top flight, which is comfortably the best rate in the competition’s history.
Such was his threat in front of goal in the Premier League that Aguero could play another 28 games without scoring and would still have the best minutes-per-goals ratio in the history of the Premier League.
He made 101 appearances for his country, scoring 41 goals, and ends his career with 427 goals from 786 matches.
"I don't know what awaits me in the next life, but I know there are a lot of people who love me and want the best for me,” he said.