Sergio Aguero ruled out of Tuesday's game against Brighton; Pep Guardiola says he will be "cold" when considering striker for selection for Champions League final against Chelsea on May 29; City's all-time leading goalscorer leaves at end of season
Monday 17 May 2021 21:30, UK
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says he will be "cold" when it comes to selecting his starting line-up for the Champions League final against Chelsea, with no room for sentiment amid club legend Sergio Aguero's departure.
City have 12 days until they play Chelsea in Porto in their first European final for more than five decades and face Brighton and Everton in that period with the Premier League title already secured.
City's all-time leading goalscorer Aguero has been ruled out of the Brighton fixture on Tuesday due to a leg injury picked up in the 4-2 win over Newcastle last week.
The Argentine has announced he will leave the Etihad at the end of the season and could conceivably have played his last game for the club with only three games remaining.
Guardiola says he will not select Aguero for the final against Chelsea in Porto purely on the basis of sentiment.
"Right now (Sergio Aguero) is injured. If he was fit I would say I will be cold," he responded when asked about a potential fairytale farewell for the striker.
"I have to take the decision which is the best to win the game. If Sergio is fit and I believe he can help us, he will play.
"If he can help us to score, he will play but it is the final of the Champions League, I have to make the decision that wins the game."
Guardiola admits that his players have been especially responsive and nice to him in the build-up to the final on May 29 because they are all vying to get into his starting line-up.
"They listen a little bit more. Seriously, they are not stupid. They want to play so they will be so nice to me," he revealed.
"Once I make the selection they will be who they are, grumpy and upset with me like normal."
The City boss is no stranger to selection dilemmas ahead of Champions League finals having led Barcelona to victory in Rome in 2009 and at Wembley in 2011.
"It has always been difficult. But previously I remember the starting eleven at Barcelona was so clear I would say.
"Here I rotate a lot and everyone can play. Still right now I am not clear about the way we are going to play and who we are going to play. I have to take a look in the next 10 days and after I will take a decision.
"That's why the relationship between the players and the manager has to be distant. You cannot be close because you make decisions which (can impact) careers and sometimes I have to be unfair to them.
"They are lucky that they have a manager who rotates a lot, in the last few months I have changed every game six or seven players. In this situation I would say I have been generous with them.
"They want to play every game especially the most important ones. It's tough but it is what it is."
