MANCHESTER CITY legend Sergio Aguero lifts up his top to show fans his microchip implant – and jokes it was inserted by his girlfriend to track his movements.
The 33-year-old went on to liken himself to the American comic book superhero Iron Man and quipped: “At night I light up in colours” as he talked about the heart problems which sparked his early retirement from football last year.
The Argentine said as he touched the left side of his chest through his T-shirt: “You know I have a microchip here, I’m going to show you.”
As he lifted his top to expose a small scar where the device was implanted during a cardiac catheterisation at a hospital in Barcelona following his last professional game at the end of October, he added: “Here it is, see.
“This is the place where they made a little opening and put in the microchip.
“At night-time I light up in colours. I’m Iron Man.
“It’s really good. I’ve got a microchip and I’m really posh. If my heart speeds up the doctor gets an alert, really posh.”
Raising his right hand and casting a quick glance away from the screen in the direction of his pretty girlfriend Sofia Calzetti, who was in the next room, he laughed: “I reckon Sophie put it in to see where I am.”
Aguero, better known by his nickname Kun in his homeland, showed how well he is pulling through the emotional trauma of having to quit football early as he continued to enjoy an extended holiday in Argentina with his partner.
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The pair are believed to be back at Aguero’s home near Buenos Aires after a sunshine break at a rented mansion near the upmarket Uruguayan resort of Punta del Este where he wound down playing tennis and preparing barbecues for friends.
The record-breaking former Man City striker, who had played only five games for Barcelona when he called time on his glittering career in December, said on Monday he had a “terrible time” in the first 15 days after he was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat.
Aguero, who made his emotional retirement announcement on December 15 at Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium alongside club president Joan Laporta after a short break in Dubai with his girlfriend, also admitted: “When I saw the stage with my chair on it I broke down and started to cry.
“I hugged Laporta, I didn’t want them to see me crying. Laporta said I had to go out and speak. I began to think I had to relax and I did.”
Aguero’s cardiologist Robert Peidro said after the dad-of-one’s retirement announcement he would be able to lead a “normal life” despite being left with a tiny scar near his heart following his cardiac ablation.
The procedure involves the insertion of a small flexible tube called a catheter which is guided into a patient’s heart through a blood vessel by experts using live X-ray images so heat or cold can be used to eliminate the irregular heartbeat.
The microchip implant enables doctors to measure how well a patient’s heart is functioning by alerting them remotely to any decline in their condition.
Aguero’s diagnosis was made in the days after he was taken to hospital clutching his chest and complaining of breathing problems and dizziness during a game against Alaves at the end of October.
He signed for Barcelona after becoming the club’s record goalscorer during his decade at the Citizens, thinking he was going to join up with friend and fellow Argentinian Lionel Messi before the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner’s shock transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
