Yesterday it was confirmed that Sergio Aguero (£4.2m) will leave Man City at the end of this season.
The phrase ‘the word legend is used too often these days but it applies here’ is used too often these days, but it applies here.
The Argentine striker averages a goal every 108 minutes in the Premier League — in this sense he is literally the greatest goalscorer since the English top flight was repackaged in 1992.
For comparison, Alan Shearer averaged a goal every 147 minutes while Thierry Henry netted once every 122 minutes.
BETWAY NEW CUSTOMER OFFER: BET £10 GET A £10 BONUS*
Aguero has plundered 181 goals in the Premier League, a tally only bettered by Andy Cole, Wayne Rooney and Shearer.
He is City’s all-time top scorer with 257 goals, the most memorable of which came in the 94th minute at home to QPR in 2012 to seal the club’s first ever Premier League crown.
And while that moment – accompanied by echoes of Martin Tyler’s commentary – will forever be the defining one of his career, he is a player best viewed from afar, where you can appreciate the vast scale of his work.
Between 2013/14 and 2018/19, he scored 28+ goals in six consecutive seasons (all competitions) — he is the only player to achieve this in English football in the last 50 years.
Aguero also holds the record for the most hat-tricks in Premier League history with 12 — the same total as Henry, Didier Drogba and Cristiano Ronaldo combined.
If David Silva’s greatness was someone intangible, Aguero’s is there for all to see in the record books.
That’s not to say fans haven’t taken joy in his process too.
Lashed near-post finishes are something of a trademark but he is a master of every type of close-range goal imaginable.
His exemplary movement, anticipation and technique means he even poses a threat in the air, despite being just 5ft 8.
Many hulking centre-backs have tried to bully him out of games and nearly all of them have been made to look foolish.
Aguero’s powerful thighs and low centre of gravity means he is able to wriggle under brutish defenders, leaving them exasperated as they exchange befuddled expressions with their goalkeeper while picking the ball out of their net.
This summer, the 32-year-old will part ways with a club he has helped transform almost beyond recognition.
He departs as perhaps the most emblematic player of City’s modern success, one who led the way in exerting the ruthless, efficient football required of trophy-winners.
And from a Dream Team perspective, millions of us owe Aguero thanks for the swathes of points over the years.
His goal tally alone accounts for 1,285 points, let alone the countless Star Man awards and 7+ ratings.
2020/21 has been by far and away his quietest season but there’s a chance he may emerge as a clever option in the last month.
If City have the league wrapped up, surely Pep Guardiola will give the club’s all-time leading goalscorer as many minutes on the pitch as possible?
Source: Read Full Article
