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City have moved quickly to quash speculation linking Sergio Aguero to Barcelona.

And, after they also remained calm on the storm surrounding Yaya Toure’s puzzling Twitter comments, they are warning fans that they could face another summer of rumour and counter-rumour around their top stars.

The chatter around Aguero was not helped by his father Leonel del Castillo telling a radio interviewer that his son ‘would love to go to Barcelona’.

Any news regarding one of their big names is alarming for City fans, but a closer look at the context of the quotes makes it less so.

Aguero’s dad has a history of being led into quotes about his son that tend to back up what the interviewer wants to hear.

This time he was talking to Catalan radio station Esports COPE, who asked him whether Aguero would like to join their local club.

The response was predictable. Del Castillo said his son would love to go to the Nou Camp, but that City would make it impossible.

He also said that Aguero was very happy in Manchester and would not agitate for a move. Six months ago his father made similar comments when asked by a Buenos Aires radio station whether Aguero would be interested in a move to the club he supported as a boy, Independiente.

That time he said Aguero can not wait for the end of his City contract – which last summer he extended to 2017 – so he can finish his career playing for El Rojo in his homeland.

The Spanish media were already awash with stories that Barca were about to make a £31million opening bid for Aguero.

Given that Aguero cost the Blues £38million three years ago and has since topped the club’s goalscoring charts in all three seasons, if Barca are considering such a bid, they would be better not to bother and save City the trouble of replying.

The Blues have made it plain that a bid of twice that amount would also be a waste, as Aguero is quite simply not for sale, at any price.

The fact that he signed a new contract last summer to commit himself to City until 2017 at he least, speaks volumes – and since that moment Aguero has repeatedly expressed his happiness at City.

His parting shot to City fans before he flew away on international duty, promising he would be back next season to win more trophies.

He carved out a special niche in football folklore, and in City’s history in particular, with his goal, after 93 minutes and 20 seconds of the title decider against Queen’s Park Rangers two seasons ago.

Aguero, more than any other City player, is central to what the team and the club is trying to achieve.

On the pitch, he is the number one striker, the only truly world-class goalscorer they have, and if their designs on the Champions League are to come to anything, he is a central figure.

But Aguero is also a key figure in City’s off-field strategy of establishing the club as a global brand.

The Blues have already risen to become the fifth most valuable brand in world football, partly as a result of their trophy success, but also because they have brought in players who attract worldwide attention.

Aguero, as a vital part of the Argentina national team, as well as a Premier League star, is the biggest of those names.

Given that, he is worth far more to the Blues as a squad member than he could ever be on the transfer market – unless Barcelona were contemplating a bid that surpassed the world-record £85m fee Real Madrid paid for Gareth Bale last summer.

That would be tempting for the Blues, especially as Aguero’s last season was badly disrupted by injury.

The message was the same when Yaya Toure’s adviser Dimitri Seluk claimed recently that his client wanted to leave City, as they had disrespected him by not marking hos birthday.

Toure appeared to back up Seluk’s comments on Twitter, before deleting his comments – with the agent then claiming the player wanted a job for life with the Blues.

The player has since given an interview to a French TV station in which he praised Paris St-Germain, one of the clubs said to be interested in signing him.

But Toure has now accused the media of taking his quote out of context, although he has said he will give a statement about his intentions once the World Cup is over. He also back-tracked on his tweet that suggested he supported Seluk’s claims.

City remain unmoved by the Toure situation. He is also contracted until 2017, and the club has made it plain that they have no intention of selling him in the summer.

Toure missed Ivory Coast’s friendly defeat by Bosnia-Herzegovina at the weekend with a slight muscle problem, but is expected to be fit for the World Cup campaign.