MANCHESTER CITY fans feared the worst when photos emerged of their hero Sergio Aguero locked in talks with Pep Guardiola back in January 2017.
The Argie forward and his agent were snapped dining with the boss at Italian restaurant Salvi’s in Manchester city centre.
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It was in the weeks after the former Atletico Madrid striker had lost his place in the starting XI to £28.6million new-boy Gabriel Jesus.
The powwow came after an uneasy few months for Aguero — with new Etihad chief Guardiola going public several times to demand more from his superstar forward.
What was said at that meeting has now been revealed in a new book called Pep’s City: The Making of a Superteam.
It suggests Guardiola called the get-together because he wanted the Argentine to get a better understanding of his footballing philosophy.
Pep wanted him to press more, to keep possession better and to show the same work ethic as the rest of squad.
The manager also saw leadership qualities in Aguero and wanted him to be an example to everyone else.
Effectively, he wanted the prolific striker to become a different player and — thankfully, for Pep, Aguero and everyone who loves City — he has managed it.
‘TOTAL TRANSFORMATION’
Aguero said: “Pep asked me to try a new way of playing and I had to adapt. It wasn’t easy but I had no choice.
“My game is totally different now from what I was doing five years ago at City. A total transformation.
“At that meal, we talked about loads of things.
“We kept postponing it and then when we finally met up, we talked about work for 20 minutes or so.
“The rest of the meal we spent chatting about other stuff, family, life in general.”
Aguero had no problem finding the net in those early days under Guardiola — and had 18 goals to his name by early January 2017.
But Guardiola had made it clear he wanted more from his main man and when Jesus finally arrived in Manchester that month, it was not long before he was in City’s starting XI.
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Aguero, 31, readily admits it took a while for him to get used to the new manager and his demands.
He said: “When Pep arrived I was a bit taken aback by his intensity, it wasn’t always easy to understand what he wanted.
“With Pep, it can feel like he’s putting a lot of pressure on you.
“You start thinking, ‘I’ve got to play well’ and only end up putting even more pressure on yourself.
“But I understood pretty quickly that’s just how he is.
“Pep is super intense. He won’t leave you alone for a second. There are no off days.
“Everything he says is for your own good, although at the start I couldn’t see that. Over time I realised he was right.
“He makes the best even better. It’s just what he does.
“I have a great laugh with him, he’s really good fun. But there is no laughing when it comes to work. He’s a real worrier too.”
City’s director of football Txiki Begiristain is a former Barcelona team-mate of Pep’s and one of his best friends.
He nicknamed him La Bestia — The Beast — and admitted Aguero is not the first centre-forward who struggled to adapt to Guardiola’s demands.
In the book, Begiristain is quoted as saying: “Kun is spectacular. I think he’s got over his worries.
“A lot of forwards have the same worries when they start working with Pep.
“They know they will have to work harder and he will make them suffer.”
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Begiristain is also close to Aguero and added: “Stats — look at his stats! The boy is a forward and he does what he’s supposed to do — score goals.
“Never mind all the nit-picking, all the bulls**t. Goals are what I’m talking about. He gets us goals and I don’t see anyone better.”
At the last count Aguero had scored 239 goals in 295 starts for City — shattering the previous record.
More than 100 of those goals have come under Guardiola — and Aguero has hit 30 or more in each of the Catalan’s three full seasons in charge.
Despite the sticky start, the pair have been good for each other and the Argentina international believes English football has never seen anything quite like his current boss.
Aguero added: “He’s improved ideas. It’s happened before — City under Manuel Pellegrini or Arsenal under Arsene Wenger.
“But nobody has ever done what Pep’s done, playing the way we play.
“And that can only be good for the English game.”
