Aguero: Guardiola will help City in Champions League quest

After speaking to Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero is relishing the opportunity to work with manager Pep Guardiola, who he believes can help Manchester City win the Champions League.

Guardiola will be at the helm in 2016-17 after replacing Manuel Pellegrini and he inherits a City team desperate to make an impact in Europe.

City made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in their history this season – eventually ousted by Real Madrid – having never advanced beyond the last 16 in the four previous campaigns.

Aguero acknowledged City were not good enough in the Champions League, but the Argentina international believes that could change under the guidance of Guardiola.

“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.”

Aguero, whose team-mates scraped through to qualify for next season’s Champions League in fourth place in the Premier League ahead of Manchester United on goal difference, added: “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.”