Former Manchester City team-mates pay tribute to Sergio Aguero

A genius, a goal machine and the sharpest man alive! As Sergio Aguero calls time on his Man City career, old team-mates including MICAH RICHARDS pay tribute to the Premier League legend

• I was aware of Sergio Aguero when he joined City but he didn’t give me a buzz 
• But Roberto Mancini knew a move for him would accelerate our development 
• You wouldn’t see him working hard in the gym or staying behind to practice 
• But if you wanted someone to score to save your life, it was definitely him 
• I don’t expect Man City will ever have another striker as good as him again 

When his name was first mentioned, we barely paid any attention.

Manchester City used to get linked with everyone 10 years ago, be it Lionel Messi, Kaka or Cristiano Ronaldo. Our club had money and superstar names were mentioned as possible arrivals every day.

Sergio Aguero, at that time, did not fit the bill.

I was aware of Sergio Aguero (right) and knew he was good but he didn’t give me a buzz

I’d have loved us to have signed Kaka, the way he played football was just so effortless

I’d have loved us to have signed Kaka. The way he played football was so effortless and I could have seen him doing spectacular things in a blue shirt. The idea of signing him excited me. I was aware of Aguero and knew he was good but he didn’t give me a buzz.

One man at our club, however, knew a move for him would accelerate our development after we had just won the FA Cup. ‘I signed him because he was young, strong and fast and because he scored a lot of goals in Spain,’ Roberto Mancini told me on Friday. ‘I thought, with those qualities, he was going to be perfect for the Premier League.’

Our fans thought that, too. There were huge crowds outside the Etihad Stadium the day he arrived to sign, in July 2011. I can’t say the excitement in the dressing room was the same. We wondered, if he was so good, why Real Madrid or Barcelona did not go for him first.

But Roberto Mancini (left) knew a move for him would accelerate our development as a club

Joe Hart (left) and Joleon Lescott (right) also offers their thoughts on Aguero as he departs

It takes a lot to win over a group of new players. As a collective, we can be judgmental and make quick assumptions. A former colleague, for instance, came off after David Silva’s first training session and said we had ‘just wasted our money, he’ll never be able to handle the Premier League’.

Sergio was introduced to us formally in Ireland. We had gone to Dublin to play two friendlies to prepare for the Community Shield. We were all eager to see what £38million had got us and Joleon Lescott got a better view than most.

‘I knew he was a top player,’ Joleon says. ‘But I kept thinking to myself, ‘We’ve got Carlos!’ No disrespect but Sergio was going to have to be pretty special to top Carlos Tevez. But I remember being in Ireland, that first day. He ran at Vinny Kompany and chopped (the ball past) him.

‘I read it and tried to close him down but, as I got to him, he chopped me. Vinny got back to his feet but Sergio chopped him again and then tried to finish with a dink over the keeper. It went over the bar but I remember looking at Vinny and thinking, ‘Ooh! We need to respect this guy — a lot’.’

Lescott knew Aguero was special when he chopped the ball past Vincent Kompany (left) on his first day of training in Ireland

But that initial flash did not become something we saw every day. Sergio wasn’t someone who would control a dropping ball out of the sky with a beautiful touch and you wouldn’t see him working hard in the gym or staying behind to practise.

‘What a bad trainer he was. Dear me!’ James Milner says, laughing, when I asked him for his first thought about Sergio.

Joe Hart adds: ‘He could barely be bothered to tie his laces!’

That’s it in a nutshell. You might imagine him being a superstar with an entourage, who made demands of people at our old Carrington training ground, but if you watched him every day you would ask yourself what the fuss was about.

But Lescott admits he was confused by the signing because City already had Carlos Tevez (left)

James Milner (left) also described the Argentine as a bad trainer when they were team-mates

‘Thinking back, I never really noticed him in the dressing room,’ Joe says. ‘You know, that’s one of the biggest compliments you can give him. He was very calm, never bothered if he was the main attraction or not.

‘But going back to the shoelaces… when he tied them (before a match), you knew he meant business. And he bagged — boy, did he bag goals. The way he finished, it was just all so natural.’

I’ve written columns on Sergio before on these pages, explaining my admiration for his talent. I know I’m enthusiastic and his biggest fan but, take it from me, those who have had the pleasure of being alongside him think the same.

‘When he got on the field he just exploded,’ James explains. ‘He was the sharpest man alive and the difference on match day was just ridiculous. How could someone train that badly and be so incredible? I remember the 2013-14 season. He scored an unbelievable amount, he was on fire.

Aguero scored his goals at a time when we were striving to overtake Chelsea and Manchester United

‘That was the point I realised how good he was. This was the highest level in terms of finishing. He got injured around Christmas but at the rate he was scoring, he was going to end up with 40 or 50.

‘He would come back from injuries and in the first game he was a bit ropey and a bit sloppy. After that, he would be up at the level.

‘He’s a quiet lad. He’ll have a bit of fun every now and again. But he’s just a goal machine.’

Unfortunately, the goal machine is leaving. It’s a difficult moment for many reasons because I don’t expect Manchester City will ever have another striker as good as him again. What defined Sergio is that he scored his goals at a time when we were striving to overtake Chelsea and Manchester United.

Unfortunately, the goal machine is leaving and I don’t expect City will ever have a striker as good as him again

The hunger we had in our squad was incredible. There was a camaraderie and we all believed if we stayed together for a few years, we would have been the ones to deliver the club its first Champions League. We felt we were a rising force in Europe, ready to take on anyone who stood in our way.

Sergio gave us that belief. He could score any type of goal, as Milly says. You didn’t stand a chance against him if he turned you in a race because he had a burst of movement that would leave you for dust.

More than anything, if you wanted someone to score to save your life, it was him. ‘You could tell he never thought about it,’ Joe says. ‘He was just a natural genius.’

But Sergio, ironically, doubted himself at times and I remember when we beat Swansea 1-0 at home in October 2012, when he was substituted at the end. He’d only scored twice in his first 11 matches and I found him crying in the dressing room. 

I remember putting my arm around him and telling him that I understood how he was feeling and to not let any doubts stop him. He smiled and said, ‘Thank you’. I know how much he takes things to heart and he will have been devastated about missing that penalty against Chelsea two weeks ago.

We felt we were a rising force in Europe that could beat anybody, and Sergio gave us that belief

He shouldn’t be. He is the last man standing of The Originals — the side which me, Joe, Joleon and Milly were proud to represent — and I hope he gets his hands on the Champions League next week.

There are seven days to make some more memories but no piece about Sergio could be complete without going back to Queens Park Rangers, the day he made our dreams come true.

‘The 93:20 goal — what can you say?’ Joleon asks. ‘But now we have seen him in that position in the front-post area, hundreds of times, against United, against Crystal Palace more recently – it’s like he has got a tap in. He is just so comfortable in the area, I’m not sure I’ve ever seen someone born to score goals like that before.’

He’s right. The final word should go to the man who knew he would deliver. ‘That goal against QPR — that was the most important for him but the most important for every one of us,’ says Mancini.

As Sergio Aguero prepares to play for Manchester City in the Premier League for the last time, be in no doubt you have been privileged to watch him: the terrible trainer who became an all-time great.

No piece to Sergio could be complete without going back to his Queens Park Rangers goal

You have been privileged to watch him: the terrible trainer who became an all-time great

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