Sergio Agüero Interview - Champions League, La Liga & El Clásico

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Ahead of a big week in the footballing calendar - which features some blockbuster Champions League ties, before attention turns to La Liga and the El Clasico - we spoke with Stake Ambassador, Sergio Agüero .

We are a month away from your third-year anniversary since you retired. How have you handled this?

I didn’t remember we were only a month away. But I knew it was around three years. At the start it was difficult to accept, it was a three-month process in which we still had hope to continue. Truthfully, I already had some business opportunities while I played, and most importantly then came my gaming team and I decided to focus on this and thankfully it all went well from there.

With so much on your mind, do you still watch football?

Well, I watched the start of this Premier League season, I’ve watched a Champions League game here and there, but to be honest, I’ve only been spending 30% of my time watching games. However, I’m clearly well informed about everything that happens in the football world, mostly through friends and social media. If I have to watch an entire match, I’ll do it for sure.

What do you think of this Barcelona under Hansi Flick?

I wasn’t really paying attention to Barca at this start of the campaign, but I did see their first Champions League match against Monaco. Well, first of all, Barcelona always brings up talented academy players that if well directed they end up building a great team. This year with the new coach, who seems to have a strong character and is very demanding, he should end up bringing out the best out of his squad. And well, as we all know, they have Yamine Lamal who keeps surprising me with his talent. He does things that only 26-year-olds can do, and for now we have to enjoy him, because we don’t know how far he will go, only time will tell.

Everyone has different talents, but his is always about confronting and moving forward. He’s able to dribble past players with ease, but then again, he creates plays that others with his age would never dare to do. He has a different vision of the game, that most only gain until they are at least 20. I was like this myself when I started out as a teenager, there are things that simply come naturally to you.

It will also depend on his coach, some coaches want them to develop offensively, and others will demand these types of players to defend more. Personally, I have seen Yamine defending close to his area, many players of his age and talent simply prefer to stay up on the field and wait to receive the ball. He’s a very complete player.

Marcos Senna recently said he prefers Lamal than Vinicius, what do you think?

Well, if we talk about styles of play and talent, I think Yamine Lamal has more to offer than Vinicius. Obviously Vinicius has played for more years and has won many titles in Madrid, so this means that Vinicius is one of the top 3 players in the world. But if we talk about his game, despite his age, I prefer Lamal.

I think we can compare these two to that of Neymar and Messi, that even played together, it was complicated but Barcelona was able to do this. Now Barca has Lamal and Madrid Vinicius, as well as Mbappe, even though he is more of a center forward.

Who is more talented between Mbappe and Vinicius?

I think what Vinicius doesn’t have, Mbappe has, and what Mbappe doesn’t have, Vinicius has. I believe that Mbappe first needs to adapt to Madrid’s style of play after so many years in Paris. I do believe they are two totally different players. However, if I face Real Madrid today, the zone I want to defend and protect the most is the zone in which Vinicius plays. Right now, Mbappe is more in a position in which he simply needs to culminate plays and score goals.

This next 26th of October, Madrid and Barcelona will play, what are your thoughts on this match?

It will definitely be a nice game this time around, however, I don’t want to give any predictions because in the past people make fun of me depending on the result, but I do think that Barcelona is coming on very strong for this game. Obviously Madrid has the pitch on their favor with their fans pushing them on, it will definitely be a complicated game, but I do feel Barca has more chances of winning.

However, we also know that Madrid, even if they are only having 20% of the ball’s possession, they can score a goal with just one quick play. Why does this always happen with Madrid? We don’t know for sure, all we know is that in the past years, the last 10 minutes of the game anything can happen against Real.

This happened to me in Manchester City and even Atletico Madrid, everyone always said that it was pure luck, but the truth is that it has nothing to do with luck. How many times has it happened already? So many. So what, they are always lucky? They simply have something that other teams don’t have.

Back to Barca, Lewandowski is at a high level, until what age do you think he’ll keep scoring so many goals?

In the end, players stop playing because they start getting symptoms during the game that your body did not feel before. So, a player will always continue to compete if they feel strong physically. The talent is always going to be there for Lewandowski, if he remains strong physically, he could even keep playing until he’s 42 or 43 years of age. Obviously, he’s not going to have the same agility as before, but he’s very awake and hungry for goals. Also, being a striker for Barca, he will always get chances to score goals.

If you were a coach nowadays and had a lot of money, which forward would you sign for your team?

Ufff, the one who most attracts attention is Haaland, but that would be quite the investment. So yes, I think Haaland is the best, but I won’t put Mbappe aside, as he can play both centre or winger.

Who do you is favorite to win the Champions League?

This is a new Champions League format, I think this year will be full of surprises, as this format could help smaller teams to thrive and qualify to the next round. This might also complicate things for bigger clubs to qualify.

I’ve always felt that the favourite to win the tournament is Manchester City, and then Real Madrid, but I also see a very strong Arsenal team. However, I do hope both City and Barca can conquer this edition. Even though I’ve seen City struggle in some Premier matches this season, it is the same club we know, controlling the games from start to finish.

But to tell you my prediction, I feel that this year’s Final will have two teams that no one is expecting.

When Pep Guardiola finally leaves Manchester, where do you think he will go next?

I think, my opinion is, that Pep has already trained Barca, Bayern and City, and I don’t think there is another team out there that plays to his style, because if he goes to another team, it will mean he has to transform the culture from scratch. So, nowadays I don’t believe I see Pep starting this process once again in another club.

This is why I see him ready to coach a National squad, because I think, first of all he has less work, in the sense that he won’t be doing the day-to-day work. Also, players who play in National teams are already very talented, and I think it won’t be hard for him to teach them his football philosophy. Of course it will depend a lot on what nation he would potentially coach.

What do you think of Atletico Madrid this season?

Atletico has always been a team that has their ups and downs, even when I used to play there a long time ago. However, today they are a much better team with better players than when I played with them. The other day I saw an interview with Cholo Simeone saying that Rodrigo DePaul isn’t playing as well as expected, at least compared to what he does with Argentina.

In my opinion, it is the coach who can bring out the best in their players, so I thought it was strange that Simeone said this about DePaul to the press, because he is the one who should inspire his player to play better. Also, Argentina and Atletico are different teams, one is more defensive that the other. It is a similar case to Messi when he played for Barcelona and Argentina, as he clearly played better in Barca until Scaloni came along. This is why the coach is so important.

Also, in Atletico they have players like Angelito Correa, which is an amazing forward, but he hasn’t been playing much, and I’ve been saying this for quite some time now. Correa is a player that has saved both Atletico and Simeone many times, he’s a player that should get more minutes. Of course, us from the outside don’t see the whole picture, but it seems clear that he’s been proving himself.

Some things are hard to understand, of course I have my opinions and a different vision of the game, but that is another reason why I don’t want to become a coach and others do.

Your compatriot Julian Alvarez has received some criticism in his beginnings in Atletico, what advice do you have for him?

When he first signed for Atletico, I congratulated him and told him that he would love the city of Madrid, which has some similarities to Buenos Aires and that could help him feel comfortable. Game wise, he will suffer, because City and Atletico are very different teams, in Manchester he had much more chances and in Madrid he’s going to have to score that few chances he gets.

What I do believe and would like to tell the people of Atletico, is that Julian can provide something that few players could. He has a lot of attitude and desire to win, every single game he will prove everyone that to his club, and that is something that Atletico fans love: when a player has passion.

Let’s hope he does well. Of course it will depend a lot on the style of play and how the coach will use him on the pitch.

I want you to build the perfect striker for me, attribute per attribute.

Technique? Kun Agüero

Right foot? Cristiano Ronaldo

Left Foot? Lionel Messi

Heading? Cristiano Ronaldo

Velocity? Ronaldo Fenomeno

Power? Lionel Messi

Opportunism? Luis Suarez

Character? Lionel Messi

Intelligence? Luis Suarez

Elegance? Lionel Messi

There you have it! The exclusive predictions, and advice from the iconic Aguero himself. If you’re after more betting picks from our experts, check out our UEFA Champions League predictions , 2024/25 La Liga picks , or our predictions on the much anticipated El Clásico .

With all this knowledge, as well as our exciting sports betting promos , you’ll be well equipped to make winning football wagers this season on Stake Sportsbook .

This interview was delivered in partnership with Mundo Deportivo.