Aguero: I can take Messi's number 10

Posted Thursday, October 08, 2015 by Foxsports.com

Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero says that he is ready to wear the number 10 shirt for Argentina in the absence of Lionel Messi.

The iconic digit is closely associated with the Barcelona star, along with national hero Diego Maradona, but with the 28-year-old sidelined with a knee injury the shirt gets passed on to Kun.

"I spoke to the kitman and he told me it is obligatory," Aguero told his club's official website. "Someone has to use it because the numbers go from 1 to 23."

"I wore it for the first time against Bosnia, in a friendly in the United States, and Leo said: 'When I am not around, Kun has to use it.' Then he started to send me messages: 'Are you going to wear it? You're not going to chicken out?'

"Now every time he is absent it is up to me to wear it. I am happy to pull on the shirt, but it obviously belongs to him."

With Messi set to miss out on Argentina's World Cup qualifiers against Ecuador on Friday and Paraguay on Wednesday, Aguero is expected to fill his boots as well as his shirt.

"It is a bit strange because Leo has always been here with us, but these things happen in football, we have great players here and we can do well without him," Aguero added.

"Obviously it is different without him but we can still make a good start. Messi is Messi, he is irreplaceable. But there is a great team here which can make his absence felt less sharply.

"Now the key is winning, picking up three points. We are playing at home, it is a long time since Argentina has seen us and we have to play well from the start to gain confidence."