Sergio Aguero, the Barcelona and Argentina striker, announced his retirement from sport at a sad press conference on Wednesday, barely over a month after being diagnosed with a heart condition.

“I’ve made the decision to retire from professional football. It’s a difficult situation, but I’m satisfied with my decision. My health comes first,” said Aguero, who played for Manchester City for ten years before leaving at the end of last season.”

He signed a two-year contract with Barcelona, but he only appeared in five games, scoring one goal against Real Madrid, before being hospitalized with lung difficulties during a match against Alaves at home in October.

After being diagnosed with a cardiac condition, Aguero was forced to confront the fact that he would never be able to play again.

“I made this decision as a result of troubles I encountered around a month ago.
He added at a press conference at the Camp Nou, which was accompanied by his Barcelona teammates, “I was in good hands with the medics who tried their best and told me the best thing to do was stop playing.”

“I did everything possible to keep the hope alive but there wasn’t much hope.”

Aguero began his career at Independiente in his native Argentina before moving to Europe in 2006 to sign for Atletico Madrid.

He won the Europa League during his time with the Spanish side and then moved to City in 2011.

Aguero left the Etihad Stadium a decade later as their all-time leading scorer with 260 goals, the most famous being his injury-time strike against Queens Park Rangers in May 2012 which won the Premier League title.

“I am very proud of the career I have had,” he added.