LooooL. A 33y old Aguero? Is Barto coming back? Fuck off...
33 year old Aguero > 30 year old Griezmann any day of the week. He would be free ('yeah, but he will be on fucking huge wages, moron' - Sigh. This is Barca, every fucking player is automatically on wages that are 15-20 percent above market value, but with our current situation we actually have some 'leverage' in negotiating normal terms for once)
Aguero has been injured from time to time, true; unlike Coutinho, right? And we all knew he was the 'perfect' Iniesta replacement at 150-160 million euros. And yes, this is a slightly unfair comparison (apples and oranges-like situation) but still my point stands. Let's look at the pros/cons:
PROS
- Aguero would demand a pretty high wage, but not even close to that of Griezmann or even what we paid Suarez, mainly due to his age and the economical situation of the club.
- He is a prolific goalscorer (someone said Braithwaite 2.0?! Wow, the insanity on this forum knows no boundaries. I'm Danish and I know Braithwaite pretty well as a player and on a good day Braithwaite could not be Aguero's waterboy; sorry to say. I like Martin's attitude and mental drive and he is a very respectable guy, but footballing wise Aguero is world class whilst the Dane is average at best).
- He already speaks the language and knows the league pretty well.
- He has been coached by Pep for some years time and has established himself in probably the most competitive league in the world.
- He is tight with Leo and yes, that does matter; age is fucking NOTHING - Messi still has at least 2 seasons in him on the highest level and we would be absolute fools to throw that away due to imbeciles claiming he is more of a problem than a solution to our current problems. Messi is by far the best player we have - even now. Just last week he was on a different level to any other player in Europe, killing off Granada and Bilbao within the same week. Just look at the role he is playing in integrating the likes of Pedri and Ansu. Dest signed for Barca mainly due to Leo and he is so good he completely shattered the confidence of world class players such as Coutinho and Griezmann who could never measure up to his brilliance.
- He is a Barca-type player. Good in combinating with other players, good in tight spaces, great technique, great dribbler and a world class finisher.
He can be for our current team what current assistant coach Henrik Larsson was in the early 00's. A great goal-threat who can come in off the bench or even start when fully fit. He would not expect to be a starter throughout the season and would therefore not take precious minutes away from the likes of Dembouz, Ansu or a new #9.
CONS
- His injuries; he recently had issues with his meniscus and recurring injuries are a nuisance and should be looked into. If he can give us 25/30+ games a season, with his goal/assist ratio that would be a huge contribution, but if he is injured for more than half a season, that would be an issue.
- Declining form; again - age is not the issue, look at Zlatan, Ronaldo, Lewandowski. It depends on the stature and physical condition of the players in question. Some players are done at 27-28 (endless list of Brazilians, for instance) and some players can go on well into their mid/late 30s. It also depends on their playing style, tactical awareness, technique, footballing intelligence etc. Aguero is NOT the 'el Kun' of City in his golden years or anywhere near his Atletico beast mode; but he could still be a valuable asset, especially for free.
- Aguero's NT chemistry with Leo. Many of us have often wondered how a team of Argentina's offensive talent couldn't muster a better threat upfront at different international competitions. They lost the WC final despite having perhaps the strongest attacking lineup (on paper) in the world. They made their way through by exhibiting a strong defensive setup led by a strong Javier Mascherano and a tight strategic approach of Catenaccio-inspired tactics. Their only true offensive power came from Leo and Di Maria in that tournament (Higuain was ghastly, Aguero was injured against Switzerland in the round of 16 and was on the bench with Di Maria for the final) - The point is, Aguero has not been as efficient and ferocious on the NT alongside his homie and roomie Leo as one could have hoped for.
I would say there are both pro's and cons for this transfer, but it depends on the perspective. Is 'el Kun' a new Suarez, Villa or Eto'o signing for us? A new '#9' for the future? Fuck no. Will he be a valuable edition for the right wage agreement and at a free transfer? Depends; if he is to stay somewhat free of major injuries and can offer somewhat similar stats to those he has shown at City in 2019/2020 then abso-fucking-lutely. That would be an instant no-brainer. That's my two cents, at least.
The guy has over 400 career goals and this is his contribution as a 'declining' footballer in the 19/20 season. Enjoy: