It has been confirmed that Manchester City icon Sergio Aguero will leave the Citizens this summer, with his contract set to expire. The former Atletico Madrid forward turns 33 this summer and it seems that both parties will be looking to the future.
Aguero has struggled for game time this season, with injuries and a COVID 19 layoff interrupting his campaign. No doubt his age and his recent injury record have played a part in his contract not being renewed.
The experienced Argentinian international is City’s record goalscorer with 257 goals in 384 appearances for the men from Manchester. He also holds the honour of being the top-scoring foreign player in the history of the Premier League.
At his peak, there were few better out and out strikers in the world or European game. With Aguero on the pitch, Manchester City were always a threat.
Unfortunately, as with everybody time has taken its toll on Aguero and he has become less important to Pep Guardiola’s team. The fact that the Citizens are running away with the Premier League title basically without the forward illustrates that City are not reliant on the Argentinian for goals.
In fairness, City have not been reliant on Aguero for goals for a good while now. His importance has grown slightly less in recent seasons, due to those injury absences.
He will be forever a City hero and will be commemorated by having a statue outside the Etihad Stadium, alongside statues of other recent City heroes David Silva and Vincent Kompany.
Where Aguero goes next is unclear, although he had previously talked about a return to his boyhood club Independiente. He will no doubt also be linked with moves to MLS and the middle east.
Everybody at City will wish him good luck in his future endeavours and know that he will be a hard man to replace.