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Agüero recalls Messi’s exit: “At first, I thought it was a joke...”

Kun Agüero spoke to El Chiringuito journalist José Álvarez about how he heard the news of Leo Messi’s departure from Barcelona and his initial reaction.

Agüero recalls Messi’s exit: “At first, I thought it was a joke...”

Kun Agüero has become a regular on the Twitch platform after opening his own channel. It gives the former soccer player, who retired last year on health grounds,the chance to express himself and connect with fans. It’s a new activity for the Argentinean - one which he has shown a natural flair for, and his live shows are always original and entertaining. In the latest one, he invited a close friend José Álvarez, who collaborates on Spanish football programme El Chiringuito, and revealed a few interesting anecdotes about his playing career.

Among them, was one relating to the Lionel Messi’s departure from Barça. Agüero recalled how he reacted when Barcelona issued a statement to confirm that Messi was leaving the club where he’d spent most of his life. At first, Agüero thought that the Catalan team’s social media networks and website had been hacked.

Agüero's reaction to Messi's departure

“When the whole thing with Leo happened, I thought someone must have hacked Barcelona’s social media accounts. I thought, this is a joke,” he explained, adding that he was with [Twitch host] Ibai when the news of Messi’s departure broke. “I was with Ibai drinking mate and all of a sudden… he looked at the phone and exclaimed: “No way! is this true?” He showed me the phone with the statement from Barça”.

Agüero initially found the news hard to believe because he was with Messi the night before and thought that perhaps it was a strategic move by the Catalans to confirm that he would stay. “I said, ‘Ibai, mate, this is impossible’. I told him right there and then that it was obvious that the website had been hacked and that it was probably just a bit of sweet talk from Barça who would later say that he’s staying”.

Ibai told Kun to call Leo to confirm that it was true, but Agüero was reluctant to because he thought it might be true. But a few hours later, after seeing the reaction on social networks, the City legend eventually realised that it was indeed true and that his friend would be leaving Barcelona. “I decided to wait, but the hours went by and I saw that the statement was still there. Suddenly, I thought, ‘Hey, you know what? no one has hacked it”.