“AGUEROOOOOO…I swear you’ll never see anything like this ever again!” were the words of Martin Tyler when Sergio Aguero scored an injury-time winner in a 3-2 win against Queens Park Rangers, which clinched the 12/13 league title for Manchester City. Many describe this as the most iconic moment in Premier League history, but Aguero’s legacy goes beyond that goal.
Sergio Aguero’s Contribution to World Football
Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo aka Kun Aguero was born on 2nd June 1988 in Buenos Aires. Aguero joined Independiente’s youth system at the tender age of 9 and became the youngest player to debut in the first division. He made his professional debut when he was 15 and became one of the mainstays in the playing XI. He was then selected for Argentina’s U-20 squad, which successfully went on to lift the U-20 World Cup in 2005. Aguero had a prolific season in 2005/06 for Independiente, which caught the eye of scouts all over Europe. He eventually moved out of Argentina and joined Atletico Madrid for an estimated 20 million Euros, a club-record deal for Atletico Madrid. At Atletico Madrid, the Argentine made his mark and established himself as one of the hottest young prospects in world football. Aguero was involved in 99 goals in 175 appearances for Atletico Madrid at a time when Diego Forlan was the focal point of the team, which makes his record even more impressive.
Manchester City & The Abu Dhabi United Group
Before Aguero moved to England, Manchester City was going through a mini-revolution of their own. The Abu Dhabi United Group took over the club in 2008. It immediately made their intentions clear by making some high-profile signings in the first couple of years, including Brazilian superstar signings- Robinho from Real Madrid and Argentine international- Carlos Tevez from arch-rivals Manchester United. Manchester City closed the gap between themselves and the big four, but they did not seem to have enough to compete for the league title. A lot of their signings did not live up to the expectations and were eventually sold.
Roberto Mancini was appointed as the manager midway through the 2009-10 season, which turned City’s fortunes around. Even though the club narrowly missed out on top 4 that season, City’s improvement under Mancini was evident. Mancini guided City to a top 3 finish in the English Premier League and won the FA cup in his first full season at Manchester City. His signings of David Silva, Yaya Toure and Sergio Aguero formed the spine of the club, which went on to win multiple Premier leagues and other domestic trophies in the next decade.
In the summer of 2011, Aguero had offers from several clubs. Manchester City acted quickly and sold their project to Aguero, who was quite keen to participate. He then made a move across to England in a deal worth 35 million pounds. The Argentine scored 2 goals and assisted one in his debut game which marked the beginning of his stellar playing career at Manchester City. He was also involved in scoring 32 goals in 34 appearances in his debut season at City and helped the club lift their first Premier League title since 1968. Aguero has played under three managers during his time at Manchester City and has consistently evolved as a player and has delivered under all the managers.
It was under Pep Guardiola when Sergio Aguero went through the most difficult phase as a Manchester City player. He did not play as many games as he would have hoped for during the beginning of Pep’s reign, but he worked on his game and tried to get himself involved more in the build-up while still having the goal to eventually become a regular. There are other forwards who have had better individual seasons, but Aguero’s consistency is what sets him apart from the rest. Aguero has scored 20 or more goals in six of his ten seasons at Manchester City and has the best goal-scoring ratio of any player in Premier League history.
Sergio’s Departure and Injury Troubles
Despite all these incredible goal-scoring numbers, Sergio Aguero has had multiple injury woes during his playing career. During the last couple of seasons, Pep Guardiola has included Gabriel Jesus quite often in the matchday XI. He offers more work rate and is crucial to the press, which Manchester City applies on opposition teams. With injury issues and Pep slowly phasing him out of the playing XI, Aguero and City have mutually decided that it is best for both parties to move on from each other at the end of the ongoing Premier League season. Now at the twilight of his career, it remains to be seen whether Aguero can still produce the goods for another top club. Have the injury issues and age caught up with him? Only time will tell.
Manchester City to Stay Resilient and Committed
Pep Guardiola has turned Manchester City into one of the world’s most feared teams in the last couple of years. His ability to switch between different formations and play liquid football even without a striker, whilst still churning out wins on a consistent basis, bodes well for Manchester City despite the impending loss of their greatest ever striker. With the impending loss of City’s star striker Sergio Aguero, Pep Guardiola rejects rumours of any future signings. Regardless of what happens in the summer, Manchester City will continue to be one of the top clubs in Europe and are in safe hands with Pep Guardiola at the helm. Also, with a massive 14 point difference and a 20 point goal difference over staunch rivals, Manchester United, City continues to dominate and persevere.
QNET’s Loyalty and Support for Manchester City
We at QNET are extremely proud about what they continue to achieve as a team in the English Premier League. QNET officially partnered with Manchester City in 2014 and are set to embark on this illustrious journey until 2024. With fair-play and hard work at the helm of things, Manchester City and QNET continue to contribute towards success, growth and recognition at the highest level. Watching Manchester City perform at such a competitive platform is a complete honour and we at QNET are ecstatic as ever!
Considering the impact of Sergio Aguero’s finesse in pushing Manchester City to the top of the table, it is quite unfortunate that his departure is in the making. However, with a stellar line-up of the world’s most exquisite players backed up by Pep Guardiola’s tactics, Manchester City is set to rise and create history, all over again!
