Sergio Aguero has confessed that he had "a lot of problems" with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in the early stages of their shared time together.
The former City striker has since been forced to call time on his illustrious playing career due to heart complications that were discovered shortly after he joined La Liga giants FC Barcelona.
After reporting chest pains during the Blaugrana's 1-1 draw against Alaves last October, Aguero was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia and was left with little choice but to retire.
He returned to the Etihad to watch his former side enjoy a thrilling Champions League semi-final clash against Real Madrid in a first-leg contest that ended 4-3 in City's favour. Covering the game for Star+, Aguero reflected on his time at the club once Guardiola was appointed in the summer of 2016.
The striker admitted that the early stages of Guardiola's tenure presented some friction between the pair, particularly on the training ground. "There was a moment, right in the first year, when Pep arrived at Manchester City, when he said to me: 'You can't train like that'," Aguero explained.
"I replied: 'But I train like this, I train in my own way. If you tell me to run to the corner flag and back, I'll go and run, but I run my own way. We had a lot of problems because of that.
"Sometimes he didn't like it, which is why I ended up playing very little when he arrived. But then it was only a matter of time before Pep adapted to the way he trained."
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This is not the first report of Guardiola struggling to come to terms with the way a star striker carries himself, his fall-out with Zlatan Ibrahimovic is well documented. Speaking to Sky Italia back in 2017, The AC Milan superstar did not hold back in his assessment of the City boss.
"I'd walk into a room and he'd walk out. I'd go to meet him and he'd go somewhere else. I understood that there was something beyond football. The problem was his. It was he who hadn't solved the problem with me.
"I read the same thing had happened to (Mario) Mandzukic and (Samuel) Eto'o. He wasn't the worst coach I'd worked under, but he was certainly the most immature because a man solves his problems."
Guardiola's apparent inability to get along with superstar strikers could damage the club's hopes of securing the signature of Borussia Dortmund sensation Erling Haaland - or at the very least serve as a warning to the Norwegian forward.
There are few reports of Haaland being anything less than an exemplary trainer, but he was reminded of his responsibilities earlier on this year after claiming that the Dortmund hierarchy were "pressuring" him to make a decision on his club future.
This was met by Dortmund director Michael Zorc conceding his surprise at the striker's claims. Speaking in January, he explained: "Currently there is no deadline and there have not even been any talks yet. But it is clear, understandable and only professional that we want and have to hold talks at some point."
