Sergio Aguero was left shocked after finding out about the tragic death of Colombian midfielder Andres Balanta.
Balanta, 22, sadly lost his life when he collapsed during training for Argentine first division side Atletico Tucuman and 40 minutes of resuscitation failed to save him.
The Colombian had played for his country’s youth teams and had hopes of a future with the senior side after moving to Argentina in July.
A club spokesman said: “We regret to inform you about the death of Andres Balanta. The club’s supporters are deeply saddened today. Of course, we support his family, teammates and friends.”
The Colombian FA added: “The Colombian Football Federation regrets the death of Andres Balanta, player of the Colombia national team in its different divisions.”
Manchester City legend Aguero was taking part in a live stream when he heard the news, and was clearly taken aback.
“Balanta died, they say. In training? Now?” he said in shock.
“That’s s***, I clearly remember that the doctor told me that that can happen, and that’s why they (the doctors) don’t allow me to play because what I had…
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Aguero was forced to retire from football aged 33 last year, soon after making his debut for Barcelona.
The City all-time top scorer experienced chest discomfort during a match against Alaves in October 2021 and was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia, he later retired on medical advice.
Aguero had previously expressed his shock at Christan Eriksen’s collapse during Euro 2020, comparing the incident to his own, with the Denmark midfielder needing on-field resuscitation.
He explained: “Clearly, it is what happened to him, that he faints and has a [cardiac] arrest and they revive him.
“What happened to me is that I was about to faint, but I did not realise it, I saw everything as blue rays and I said ‘I’m about to faint’.”