Aguero confident of successful 2016 - but will Messi & Guardiola feature in his Man City masterplan?

Manchester City fans can be excused for looking ahead to 2016 with a mixture of fear and excitement this Christmas. December has delivered further evidence that this is a club heading in the right direction, whether through the massive investment from an influential Chinese consortium, the seemingly imminent arrival of Pep Guardiola as manager, and a flicker of hope that Lionel Messi may even become available.

But results on the pitch are currently serving as a reality check, and Sergio Aguero, confident though he is that major success is on the way, has some words of caution despite his festive cheer.

The Argentina striker is open to all possibilities in the New Year, serious or otherwise. The Ballon d'Or, the Champions League and the Copa America are all in within reach over the next 12 months, and even a documentary to rival 'Ronaldo' - "my life is super interesting!", Aguero joked at the propsect - was not ruled out (although you should not expect it to happen just yet!).

Aguero certainly sees success with his national team as inevitable. Argentina have fallen at the final hurdle twice in the last 18 months, losing World Cup and Copa America finals in dramatic circumstances. But rather than be deterred by La Albiceleste's penalty shoot-out defeat to Chile earlier this year, which saw the opportunity to win their first trophy since 1993 slip away, the porteño is convinced that glory is just a matter of time.

"We’ve been searching for success for many years. In the last two years we’ve lost narrowly, but we have to keep trying because one day it will happen, no?

"It was the same for Germany; semi-final, final, semi-final, final, and then they did it. They won the World Cup, so we have to keep going like that."

Typically, in a seasonal game of 'would you rather', when put to him that he could only win one next year, he insisted both Champions League and Copa Centenario are in reach; Aguero sets himself no limits. Similarly, when asked if he would prefer to retire at Independiente or play with his old friend Messi at City and hang up his boots in England, there was only one answer: "Hopefully both of us at Independiente and City.

"If he wants to come here, let him come!"

Aguero's love for Independiente, his boyhood club, is perhaps matched by his fondness of playing with Barcelona's iconic No.10: "You always like to play with the best players, but to be playing alongside the best in the world is very emotional and very beautiful, no?"

But for any City fans allowing themselves to get giddy at the prospect of the best Argentine of them all joining the ranks of his countrymen at the Etihad Stadium, Aguero has a sobering message.

"It's very difficult for Leo to leave Barcelona, because he’s played there since he was very young and it’s not easy for him to think about another team.

"So no… hopefully he can be here at City obviously, but of course it’s always the player’s decision and I think he’s very comfortable and very calm in Barcelona."

City's interest in Messi hinges heavily on whether the forward ever takes the mammoth decision to leave Camp Nou. Their hopes of bringing in Messi's former mentor, Pep Guardiola, however, moved a step closer recently when it was announced that he will indeed depart Bayern Munich.

But again Aguero wants to set the record straight. He was on international duty when news started to gather pace that the Catalan coach had given his word to City's directors, and after giving an interview to an Argentine broadcaster, the striker was quoted as saying he would "like to be coached by [Guardiola] in the future".

Those words added to the weight of pressure on current City boss Manuel Pellegrini, and Aguero insists he was misquoted.

"I never said that. They asked if I would like it if he comes [to England], like Klopp at Liverpool.

"I said that obviously the best managers that are in English football are here because it’s beautiful and because English football is the best in the world. But obviously players, like playing [with the best], would like to be coached by the best coaches, but that’s not necessarily talking about him."

But the allure remains: "I don’t know him but from how people talk about him, and for what Guardiola has won as well, obviously he’s one of the best coaches in the world."

For now, though, there is a lot of football to be played. Before the year is out City must face the league leaders on their own turf and surely cannot afford to lose a sixth game of the domestic campaign.

Aguero will surely one day unveil a statue of himself outside the Etihad thanks to his last-gasp league-winning goal in 2012, but he has no taste for similar dramatics this season.

For once he was happy to give a clear answer when given the choice between resounding or hard-fought success: "I would prefer to win the league by 15 points. We did it with a goal in the last minute, but we suffered – a lot!"

The way things are going, City may well have to suffer once again. But if Blues fans share Aguero's faith, 2016 will be very prosperous indeed.