Sergio Aguero sadly announced his retirement from football this past week. The 33-year-old was forced to make the tough decision after discovering a heart condition a few months ago.
It brings to a close a glittering career which saw the Argentine ascend into rarefied air, joining the very exclusive club of all-time Premier League greats during his time with Manchester City.
In hindsight, there should be no doubt about Aguero’s status as an all-time great. And yet, it still felt as if he was shortchanged and not given his due credit compared to his peers over the course of his career.
SBOTOP is here to shed some more light into why Sergio Aguero should definitely go down as one of the best ever to play in the Premier League.
Kun Aguero, goalscorer supreme
Sergio Aguero was a natural-born goalscorer. He showed that even before heading to the Premier League as he lit up La Liga with Atletico Madrid during his younger years. He racked up an impressive 101 goals in 234 appearances over five seasons for the Rojiblancos.
Despite his diminutive stature, the fact that he was Argentine and that he wore the No. 10, Aguero was every bit the prototypical No. 9 centre-forward. He loved lurking on the shoulder of the last defender to run in behind and bang them in.
Aguero also just had a knack for being in the right place in the right time inside the penalty box, which is what all great strikers did. He was also incredibly strong despite his small size, which helped him make it in the notoriously physical Premier League.
And make it he did. From the moment he reached Manchester, Aguero was awesome. He scored 30 goals in his first season in England, including that most famous of goals to land City their long-awaited Premier League title.
Aside from being a premier poacher, Aguero showed he could score from just about every other conceivable way. And he just didn’t stop.
Aguero scored 260 goals in 390 appearances for Manchester City, which is already impressive. And he scored 184 Premier League goals, which is good for fourth in history behind only Alan Shearer, Wayne Rooney, and Andrew Cole.
But even more impressive is the fact that Aguero scored a goal every minute per 108 minutes he was on the pitch. That’s the best goal-per-minute ratio in Premier League history by a wide margin; the great Thierry Henry is a distant second with 122 goals/minute. He also banged in 12 hat-tricks, which is still a Premier League record.
If not for the niggling injuries that always seemed to keep him sidelined for a handful of games each year, Aguero could have scored even more goals. He was just that good.
Kun Aguero, Man City game-changer
It’s safe to say that Aguero will forever go down as one of, if not the greatest player in Manchester City’s history. Fans of Vincent Kompany, Yaya Toure, and David Silva will certainly have their say about that, but the stats, the trophies, and the videos will make a strong case for Aguero.
It was not mere coincidence that his first season saw City finally claim the championship and that it was his brilliant goal won it for them.
Aguero was a game-changer for City. While Kompany, Toure, and Silva were all world-class in their own right, he was that next level of great that they needed to rule the Premier League.
And rule they did. With Aguero consistently banging in 30-odd goals per season, City have gone on to claim five Premier League trophies over the last 10 years. The Premier League 2021 odds have them favoured to win again in the first year without Aguero, but that’s a testament to Pep Guardiola’s ability to adapt.
There were doubts about whether Aguero would fit into Pep’s plans when the Spaniard arrived, but Aguero proved how ridiculous those were. While he was not the prototypical Pep forward, he showed off the other skills he has in his game to fit in the system, ones that led to even more unprecedented City dominance.
The Premier League 2021 news of Aguero’s departure was sad but not unexpected. After all, his role had been minimised and Pep’s decision not to start him in the Champions League final all but confirmed his time at City was up.
Failing to win the Champions League is the black mark on Aguero’s City CV. Even his greatness couldn’t break City’s European hoodoo. But even with that shortcoming, he is without question a City legend whose influence at the club cannot be overstated.
Kun Aguero, all-time Premier League great
With all of his amazing achievements and accomplishments during his time in England, there is no doubt that Aguero belongs in the pantheon of all-time Premier League greats.
For some reason, he did not the admiration that he perhaps deserved while he was still playing. Perhaps it was the fact that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were simply overshadowing everyone else with their exploits. Or perhaps Aguero’s playing style just didn’t do enough to capture the imagination.
Yes, his peaks may not have been as exciting or as flashy as someone like Thierry Henry or Cristiano Ronaldo. But Kun Aguero’s consistency was in itself a sight to behold.
For nearly a decade, he dominated almost every time he took to the field. And for those many years of excellence, Kun Aguero fully deserves his place among the all-time Premier League greats.
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