Sergio Agüero: Champions League 2024-25 Insights & Predictions

The Champions League returns this week so we caught up with Stake's Global Football Ambassador Sergio Agüero, a man who knew a thing or two about this competition, having scored 41 goals in 79 appearances in it.

Agüero gave his thoughts on the world’s biggest and best football club competition here at Stake.com.

This could be Pep Guardiola’s last season with Man City - would it be deemed a failure if he leaves having only won the Champions League once?

Well, for starters, we'll have to see whether it's Pep's last season, won't we? Nothing certain about that so far. And second, I'd hardly call that a failure. He's reached the finals once and won the other. You have to see the big picture – City had played the Champions over the last few years but we'd never achieved that. After getting the right experience, we made it. Nobody can say we are not contenders for the Champions now. That's a success in my eyes.

City’s FFP case is due to start this month - do you think it will negatively affect the players or Pep? Or could it even spur them on to win the trophy?

I don't think it's had an impact. You can see it when we play. There's the same mettle, the same desire to win.

Erling Haaland already seems to have your City goalscoring record in his sights. Did you expect him to be this good when he signed? Can he go on to eclipse the records set by Messi and Ronaldo as Pep has suggested?

I've always said that Erling reaping many goals is a great thing, because it likely means City is cinching new titles to go with that. He's got a great scoring average, and he's maintained it season after season. Hopefully Erling can stay on this path. Perhaps, he'll break those records. He'll need to stay course on his performance... we'll only know how much he's able to achieve by the end of his career.

Real Madrid have dominated the UCL for much of the last decade - does signing Kylian Mbappe make them favourites again this season? Where would you rank him in the list of best strikers on the planet right now?

Nobody's ever been able to count Real Madrid out. No need to say that. Mbappe joining them only serves to make them a bigger threat. I think he's a shoo-in to be La Liga's next Pichichi. Nevertheless, a single player doesn't make the difference. The team does. There's many of those vying to take the Champions, and they'll fight tooth-and-nail for it.

Harry Kane will be looking to end his trophy curse with Bayern Munich this season. Do you think he was right to move to Germany after missing out on moves to City and Man United? Or should he have waited a year and left for free?

I think the decisions of players need to be respected. Kane made a call to join the Bundesliga, and if it was right for him then, then right it was.

Guardiola said Phil Foden was the most talented player he had worked with back in 2019, and he worked with Messi. As someone who has played with Messi, did you understand why he said that or did you think he was crazy?

Phil is a talented, dedicated, and professional player, the whole package. We saw that since he was very young. I think he'll keep getting better. Comparison isn’t easy. Messi has an amazing career, and Phil is still forging ahead.

Speaking of Messi, do you think it’s a shame that he isn’t still playing Champions League football? Do you think there’s any chance he returns to play in Europe before retiring?

I don't think Messi has any need to be back, having already played and won many Champions Leagues. Leo has earned the right to be allowed to pick where and how he wants to play, and for how long.

What do you make of the new Champions League format? Is there a danger that it could ruin the competition we all love?

We'll have to see how it plays out. The changes are major, it'll be hard to get used to them. I'm sure we'll have more to make a solid judgement in due time.

Now that you've heard all the news and insights from the expert himself, you're ready to place the best football bets online! Utilise our Champions League betting picks and predictions and live stream the action for free right here on Stake Sportsbook.

For more on this exclusive interview with Agüero, head over to Goal.com for further insights .