Sergio Agüero

Lore & Background

Agüero began his career at the Argentine club Independiente where, on 5 July 2003, he became the youngest player to play in the Argentine Primera División at 15 years and 35 days, breaking the record previously set by future father-in-law Diego Maradona. In 2006, he moved to La Liga club Atlético Madrid in a transfer worth €23 million. At the club, he won the UEFA Europa League and the UEFA Super Cup. Agüero signed for Manchester City in 2011 for a reported fee of £35 million. He spent 10 years at the club, winning five Premier League titles, notably scoring a last minute winner in the last league game of his debut season to win the club its first league title since 1968. Further honours include a record six EFL Cups and an FA Cup; he was also part of the club's first UEFA Champions League final. In 2021, he joined Barcelona on a free transfer, before retiring from football aged 33 due to heart problems in the same year. He played just four matches for the club, with his only goal coming in the first El Clásico of the 2021–22 season. At international level, Agüero represented Argentina under-20 as they won the 2005 and 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cups. He played at the 2008 Olympics, scoring two goals in the semi-final against Brazil as Argentina won gold. Agüero is Argentina's third-highest all-time top goalscorer and earned over 100 caps, representing the senior team at three FIFA World Cups (2010, 2014, 2018) and five Copas América (2011, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021), finishing as runner-up at the 2014 World Cup and winning the Copa América in 2021.

In Their Own Story

The Etihad was a cauldron. Eighty-five thousand voices pressed against the roof as the clock crept past the ninety-third minute. The score was 1–1. QPR had clawed back from a goal down, and the silence that followed their equaliser was the loudest sound in the building. Then — a through ball, a touch, a low driven shot into the far corner. The net rippled. The stadium detonated. Agüero tore his sky-blue shirt over his head, sprinted to the corner flag, and threw himself onto the turf as teammates piled on top of him. Confetti that had been waiting in the stands rained down like a second sky. In that single, breathless instant, a decade of doubt, of transfer rumours, of 'is he really worth it?' questions dissolved into nothing. He was no longer a signing. He was the club. And the city, that night, belonged to Kun.

Reader's Guide

Agüero is the second highest non-English goalscorer in the Premier League, with 184 goals. He held the record for the most Premier League goals scored by a player for any single club until it was overtaken by Harry Kane in 2022. During his time in England, he was awarded the Player of the Year by the FSF for the best player in the Premier League, won the Premier League Golden Boot, and was included in the PFA Team of the Year twice.

Did You Know?

• Agüero became the youngest player to debut in the Argentine Primera División at 15 years and 35 days.
• He scored a last-minute winner in the final league game of his debut season to win Manchester City its first league title since 1968.
• He holds the record for most Premier League hat-tricks, with 12.
• His only goal for Barcelona came in the first El Clásico of the 2021–22 season.