“I could have replaced Del Piero at Juventus, but I always wanted to play in England. Michael Owen was a hero of mine” Sergio Aguero looks back on the opportunity Manchester City gave him as a young striker

When Manchester City pulled the trigger on a £35million move for a 23-year-old Sergio Aguero in the summer of 2011, they were signing one of the most promising young strikers on the planet.

Aguero arrived at the Etihad five years after making the move to Europe as a teenager, when Atletico Madrid spent €20million to bring him over the Atlantic from Independiente.

His time in the Spanish capital saw some of Europe’s brightest and best linked with the Argentine.

Juventus were among the gaggle of clubs chasing Aguero that summer, as the Italian giants braced themselves for the end of club legend Alessandro Del Piero’s career in Turin.

But for Aguero, another challenge appealed more to him than the responsibility of succeeding a club icon in Del Piero.

“The day I found out that Manchester City wanted to sign me, I was at the 2011 Copa America with Argentina,” Aguero recalls to FourFourTwo.

“I’d been with Atletico Madrid for five years, and my agent Hernan Reguera called me to say that City were very interested.”

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And while this was an offer that quickly appealed to the young Aguero, he was well aware of his other suitors.

“Juventus were also very interested and were close to finalising a deal – at that time, they were preparing to part ways with Alessandro Del Piero.”

At this time, City were growing in stature as Sheikh Mansour’s petrodollars continued to be poured into the club, but it was not just the appeal of joining a side on the cusp of becoming a Premier League powerhouse that appealed to Aguero.

“But the truth is that when Manchester City approached me, my decision was made, because I’d always liked the English league,” he continues, before revealing his appreciation for one of the Premier League’s most famous strikers.

“Michael Owen was an idol of mine, I looked up to him, and I had a dream to play in the Premier League.”

Aguero would soon complete his move to Manchester City and over the course of the next decade this decision would be vindicated, as he would go on to become the club’s all-time leading scorer and help the club win five Premier League titles.

Sergio Aguero was an ambassador for FIFA Hospitality at this summer’s World Cup