More

    Soccer News: Aguero retires: Man City big ‘proud’ of a sparkling career

    Sergio Aguero is proud to look back on his career successes after announcing his retirement at the age of 33.

    The Barcelona forward confirmed his decision to retire on Wednesday in an event that saw the participation of the president Joan Laporta and the players of the Blaugrana first team, in the presence also of the representatives of the other clubs of Aguero, including the coach of the Manchester City Pep Guardiola.

    Aguero, who starred at Atletico Madrid before becoming a big city, suffered from chest pain in the draw with Deportivo Alaves on 30 October, which the club confirmed was due to a heart arrhythmia.

    Further investigations led to the exclusion of the Argentine attacker for three months from the “diagnostic and therapeutic process”. After consultations with the specialists, Aguero was told that it would be too great a risk to continue playing.

    Aguero was in tears when he confirmed his retirement at Camp Nou, but is happy with what he has achieved during an astounding career.

    “I was in good hands with the medical staff who did their best, who told me the best thing would be to stop playing,” said Aguero.

    “So I made that decision ten days ago, but I want to tell everyone that I did everything to have some hope, but there wasn’t much.

    “I am very proud of the career I have had, I am very happy. I’ve always dreamed of playing football since I was five, my dream was to play in Primera [Argentina] – I never thought I’d come to Europe, so I want to thank everyone.

    “Atletico bet on me when I was only 18, the people of City – you know how I feel about City, I did all the best I could there, I am very grateful because they looked after me very well and everyone here at Barça The team was great for me, undoubtedly one of the best clubs in the world.

    “I’m grateful because they treated me really well, and of course the Argentine national team, what I love the most. I am grateful to everyone who came today, to my family, to the people who have worked with me and to my teammates, most recently from Barça, I think I have always done my best to help them win.

    “I also thank the teammates who helped me grow, and now I’m leaving with my head held high, happy. I don’t know what awaits me next, but I know there are many people who love me and want the best for me. I am grateful to everyone who is here, to all the clubs I have played at, and I will always remember the amazing things. “

    Aguero helped City win five Premier League titles during his time with the club – his last-ditch goal against QPR in 2012 securing one of the most memorable successes in the competition’s history.

    He left City after scoring 184 times in the Premier League at a rate of one every 108 minutes, the best frequency of any player to score at least 20 in the competition’s history. In fact, Aguero could play another 2,520 minutes of Premier League action (the equivalent of 28 full games) without scoring, and still have the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any player who has scored 20 or more.

    The City player closest to that ratio (min.20 goals) is Edin Dzeko, who has scored a goal every 141.6 minutes for City in the English top flight.

    Aguero is also the highest-scoring foreign player in the Premier League and holds the record for the number of goals scored for a club.

    His only goal for Barcelona came in a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in October. A calf injury prevented him from playing more before his heart problem, even though he helped Argentina win the Copa America in Brazil during the off-season.

    Asked if he had worked out the change in his life, Aguero replied: “I’m fine right now, obviously the first two weeks were really tough. When they did the first physical test on me in the clinic, the medical staff called to say there was a big chance I wouldn’t be able to continue playing.

    “I started elaborating then, but it wasn’t easy. I’m still processing everything – one of the doctors told me plainly, that’s enough. When it was final, it took a few more days to process. I’m fine at the moment, but it was difficult. “

    Related articles

    Comments

    Leave a Reply

    Share article

    Latest articles