Pep Guardiola wants Sergio Aguero to stay at Manchester City despite Atletico Madrid links

City's all-time leading goalscorer has been linked with a return to his former club

Sergio Aguero has already said he will leave Manchester City at the end of his contract (Getty)

Pep Guardiola has told Sergio Aguero he does not want him to leave Manchester City amid reported interest from his former club Atletico Madrid.

Aguero, City’s all-time leading goalscorer, has two years remaining on his Etihad contract having joined from Atletico for £38m in 2011.

The Argentine has previously said that he plans to rejoin his boyhood club Independiente when his current deal at City expires.

Atletico, however, are reported to be preparing an offer for Aguero as they seek replacements for Antoine Griezmann and Fernando Torres, both set to leave the Wanda Metropolitano this summer.

When asked about Aguero’s future at his pre-match press conference on Friday, Guardiola poured cold water on Atletico’s interest and suggested he wants the striker to stay, but admitted he did not know what the future may hold.

“I think it’s not going to happen,” he said. “My desire, I think its not going to happen. But I don’t know.

"It’s happened many times in these press conferences and I said maybe a thousand times: Sergio is going to stay until he decides his time is over.

"I said it last season and this season many times and I say it today. That’s why I say it isn’t going to happen, but in football you never know."

Aguero has missed the closing stages of City’s championship-winning campaign after undergoing knee surgery last month. The 29-year-old, who turns 30 next month, is one goal short of scoring 200 times for City.