"Aguerrooo!", the commentator will often scream as he scores beautiful goals for his club. Who is "he"? Sergio Leonel Agüero del Castillo is his name, a striker of repute world over,you can say he was built to score. He's commonly known as Kun Aguero, "Kun" being a childhood nickame from a popular cartoon character. His 5 feet 8in height puts him among the shortest of players, but his goalscoring record is giant-like,needless to say this is no cartoon. Today he plies his trade with Manchester City,a club he joined from Atletico Madrid in 2011. He has been a key parameter in the strategy for the City revolution that started in 2008, that today Man City is absolutely world class,such that even Manchester United their more illustrious neighbours can no longer taunt them with the formerly usually line of "our noisy neighbors".
Roberto Mancini his first coach at City,spoke "prophetically" on Sky Sports immediately after Aguero's debut:" For me he is a fantastic striker, he is young, I think that for us he'll be a fantastic player in the future." Indeed today he is the club's record goalscorer!
The breaking news is that Manchester City have announced that striker Sergio Aguero will leave the club at the end of the season,after 10yrs of playing for them. His contract is due to expired at the end of this season. Make no mistake about it, Aguero's was keen to stay, but the club(especially current coach,Pep Guardiola) had other ideas.
This season he has started just five Premier League and Champions League matches after being troubled by illness and injury,which actually began last season. He suffered a knee injury in the first game of Project Lockdown in June last year, he had surgery which ruled him out until October.
He then had a hamstring setback and missed another 10 games because of coronavirus regulations and has been waiting to be given requisite playing time– I have been suspicious of the coach's reluctance– but this news on Aguero's impending exit confirms my suspicion, the coach was already thinking beyond Aguero perhaps because of these injuries and age.
These days he is 32years old and he boasts 257 goals in 384 appearances, overtaking Eric Brook’s 78-year record in 2017. He is also the highest scoring overseas player in Premier League history and fourth overall(8 more goals this season and his lands in third). Also he has won 10 major trophies during his time at the Etihad Stadium, including four Premier League titles.
Amazing!
He indeed is an icon and we can say he provided the most iconic moment in the history of the club - and perhaps the Premier League - when his last-minute winner against QPR on the final game of the 2012 season(beating the defender, Taye Taiwo, my country man,before slamming the ball home) secured the title from Manchester United on goal difference.
Another 10year man like Kun spoke about this recently. Micah Richards (Man City:2005-2015),now retired:
"He's been an absolutely sensational to watch, an inspiration, I was lucky enough to call him my teammate," Richards told Sky Sports.
"I'm sad, to be honest with the news. I believe he could still give at least one more season at the highest level.
"His injuries haven't been great this season and he does normally take a little bit of time to get going but then an interview the other day said that Man City aren't buying a striker.
"You've got him for free and I still believe he can still do it at this level so it is strange. As for quality, it's ridiculous. What makes it so great is he was coming into a side trying to achieve something.
"The Liverpools, the Manchester Uniteds have always had the best players but he was the difference-maker, the missing piece to the puzzle."
We end with Aguero's words after this Manchester City announcement.
You may call him Kun the Great. No wonder it has been confirmed by the club chairman that a statue will be built for him. Their own way of acknowledging his greatness, to my mind.
Going forward, Aguero is definitely not a spent force. He sure will attract the interest of top clubs, with Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain already linked with potential moves for the 32year old.
Farewell football guru.
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