Barcelona have an 'agreement in place' to sign Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero on a free transfer, with a deal understood to be 'very close'.
New Barcelona president Joan Laporta has agreed to sanction a two-year contract for the 32-year-old, lasting until June 2023.
Argentine striker Aguero's contract at the Etihad expires this summer, meaning clubs outside Spain could start contract negotiations from back in January for a move that would not involve a transfer fee.
According to AS, the only reason the contract has not been signed is because although Laporta is due to become president shortly, Carles Tusquets is in interim charge.
Aguero's agent Hernan Reguera had offered the 97-cap international to the three presidential candidates Laporta, Victor Font and Toni Freixa, with his words evidently striking a chord with lawyer Laporta.
The Catalan giants have already snapped up promising City centre half Eric Garcia, 20, on a five-year contract, also a free transfer.
And a fresh start the Nou Camp is likely to have proved tempting to Aguero, who scored his first Premier League goal of an injury-hit season with a penalty against Fulham on Saturday.
The renewal could also mean a longer stay for talismanic forward and compatriot Lionel Messi, with the Spanish daily newspaper suggesting the deal for Aguero might be conditional on Messi remaining at the club.
Legendary former Barcelona goalkeeper and director of football Andoni Zubizarreta strongly considered signing Aguero in 2014, before eventually plumping for Luis Suarez, who proved a huge success at the club.
It is also understood that signing the 5'8" forward would not preclude a move for Borussia Dortmund star Erling Haaland, who is considered the centrepiece of Barcelona's recruitment for next campaign.
Aguero would provide excellent cover and competition for the Norwegian, adding a clear step up in quality from Martin Braithwaite and offering a game-changing option and massive experience.
However, the move may sour relations between Laporta and boss Ronald Koeman, who has been requesting the signing of Lyon's Memphis Depay, whose contract also expires this summer, for more than a year.
Picacdopst
640
All of you saying Aguero is a trash deal, I hope you all can gather some money and send to Barcelona board members so they can get players of your choice. some of you come here with little or no knowledge and talk trash about players you know nothing about. Aguero has never and will never be an average player, he's world class. if you don't know football, do yourself a favour and read the comments. don't come here and write rubbish. if you're a Barcelona fan and you think signing him is trash then you don't know what the club needs. filling your squad with young players with no veterans to teach them is equal to running a very long race. when we have a veteran in every part of the pitch to teach these young boys, in two seasons, we would see positive results. it's not enough to just pressure PSG for 90 minutes. we need a team that can play consistently in all competitions. you think you can do that with griezmann and dembele. we would be present in all competitions if these guys have the ability to finish but who will teach them? wake up and smell the coffee. Aguero is a god in the premier league and the last time I checked, it's still one of the best leagues in Europe.
Jozablmnou
475
Aguero is a good player, but he is old, Barcelona should be recruiting young players. We should be thinking long-term, not living in the moment. Haaland is a better option to me
Wezbdmno
366
They must keep trincao and sell dembele
D10S_LM10
222
Aguero is EPL and Manchester City legend and he should stay at Manchester City. Bringing him to Barcelona just only to so Messi can stay will be the first mistake Laporta will do.
Kingziz
161
city fans reading this Article [Crylaugh][Crylaugh][Crylaugh]
-Kyle_Tyson-
9
Aguero is a good player, but he is old, Barcelona should be recruiting young players. We should be thinking long-term, not living in the moment. Haaland is a better option to me
mhmm and who's gonna pay for halland ? your father ? your whole family can't earn halland's 10 year's salary in their whole life , let alone transfer fees. shut up about things you don't know