Pep Guardiola has revealed his stance on Sergio Aguero's future at Manchester City amid a lack of regular minutes for the Argentine.
Aguero, who is widely regarded as one of the best centre-forwards in Premier League history, is now approaching the final few months of his contract at the Etihad Stadium.
City have yet to offer the 32-year-old fresh terms, and Guardiola admits that how often he plays between now and the end of the season could have a huge bearing on whether or not his services are retained beyond the summer.
What's been said?
Asked if he would like to see Aguero extend his stay in Manchester, Guardiola said: "For the human being, as a person, as what he is, even as a player, of course.
"But we have to see what happens at the end of the season. We cannot forget how long he was out. Now we start to get him better.
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"I know he needs minutes to get to his best condition but we are not maybe in the moment that you can give minutes [for the sake of giving] minutes.
"So we are going to speak, I think the club will speak with his agent and know the situation, and we are going to talk at the end of the season, like with Fernandinho, for example, it's the same situation."
How has Aguero performed for City in 2020-21?
A string of niggling injuries significantly limited Aguero's playing time in the first half of the campaign before a coronavirus diagnosis delayed his return to action at the start of the year.
The Argentina international has been restricted to just 11 appearances across all competitions as a result, and only has two goals to his name - one of which came from the penalty spot.
The bigger picture
Aguero's status as a City legend has not been diminished despite his struggles for form and fitness over the past couple of years.
The experienced striker has hit 256 goals in 381 games since joining the club from Atletico Madrid in 2011, picking up four Premier League titles, one FA Cup and five League Cups along the way.
However, a summer exit may be in the best interest of both parties, if Aguero wants to play more regularly and with City reportedly preparing to bolster their attacking ranks.