Sergio Aguero has said he plans to try to convince his Argentina teammate Lionel Messi to join him at Manchester City.
Messi's future at Barcelona has been the subject of much debate recently, especially after the 27-year-old suggested in an interview with Argentine publication Ole that he could potentially leave the Camp Nou in the summer due to differences with some at the club.
Barca president Josep Maria Bartomeu played down any differences with his star player, amid claims that the real issue was annoyance in the Messi camp over continuing investigations into his tax affairs.
However, Messi's father has said a move would be considered if Barca's directors accepted a bid from another club, leading to speculation that Europe's richest clubs -- a list that includes City, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint Germain, Chelsea and Real Madrid -- would be able to afford the 250-million-euro release clause in the four-time Ballon d'Or winner's contract.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini subsequently played down talk of interest from the Premier League champions as "rumours," but Aguero hopes to convince his compatriot to join him at the Etihad Stadium.
"It will be difficult to convince him, but I will try," Aguero is quoted as saying in Mundo Deportivo after winning the Player of the Year prize at the 2014 Football Supporters' Federation Awards awards. "It would be good if all the great players were in the Premier League."
Aguero and Messi are firm friends, having first played together in the Argentina youth ranks, with City right-back Pablo Zabaleta also known to be close to the forward. The trio won the 2005 Under-20 World Cup and then the Beijing Olympics in 2008 together, and are now all key members of the current Albiceleste senior side.