Manchester City legend Sergio Aguero has said that the heartbreak of losing the Champions League in 2021 with Manchester City hurt more than Argentina's 2014 World Cup defeat to Germany.
Pep Guardiola's City side lost 1-0 to Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea in their last Champions League Final outing. It was widely expected that City would go on to win the game, but Kai Havertz' singular goal meant that there would be no European glory at City that year.
After failed quests for the trophy every year since Pep's arrival, people have questioned his legacy because of the lack of European success. This year, there is a quiet acceptance that City is going to get over their Champions League hump.
Fast forward to 2023, City is back in the final and again expected to win the trophy in Istanbul. City takes on Italian side Inter Milan in Saturday's final.
Sergio Aguero's destiny unfulfilled as Man City legend bows out with Champions League final losshttps://t.co/bm8278IQkQ pic.twitter.com/ZZsH2BXbve
— Mirror Football (@MirrorFootball) May 29, 2021
Aguero, who spent 10-years in Manchester, spoke to Stake.com about the loss against Chelsea in 2021. "We were very excited to be able to win our first Champions League," said the City legend. "But it was not to be. They were able to score a goal, and it was difficult for us to convert.
"In short, it is football. And these things happen. Of course, we would have liked another result. It was a disappointment, but I'm sure it adds up as an experience and that it will be useful for everything to come."
"Many people would assume that losing a World Cup would hurt more than a Champions League loss, but Aguero admitted that accumulated failures in Europe meant that the loss cut deeper. "They are different things. The feeling that remains is similar because you did not achieve what you were looking for so much," added Aguero.
"But the Champions League is played every year. And one World Cup every four. One is in your club, and the other in the team of your country. That makes it different. Afterwards, the bad taste for not having succeeded lasts a long time."
The Champions League Final kicks off at 8pm on Saturday.
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