OREANDA-NEWS. Argentina's Spanish Barcelona forward Sergio Agüero has ended his career as a footballer due to heart problems. He announced this on 15 December.

"I have decided to end my professional career. It's a very difficult moment,"- Agüero said at a press conference.

The athlete last took to the field on October 30: he was replaced in the 41st minute in the match against Alaves, Sport-Express reports. The forward suddenly began to feel unwell: he could hardly breathe and held his chest.

It turned out that Agüero had suffered an attack of tachycardia. He was admitted to hospital, examined and found to have a heart problem. The Argentine was originally expected to miss three months, but the situation turned out to be more serious.

The Argentine joined Barcelona in the summer following the end of his contract with English side Manchester City. He managed to play five matches for the Catalan club and score one goal.

Agüero is a five-time English champion with Manchester City and a Europa League winner with Atletico Madrid. He scored 41 goals in 101 appearances for Argentina. He won the America's Cup in 2021.

Earlier, on 1 November, Spartak Moscow goalkeeper Artem Rebrov announced the suspension of his career. He moved to the position of technical coordinator of the club. This came amid a series of setbacks for the team over an extended period.