“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

Former Manchester City superstar Sergio Agüero recently revealed that he turned down a major opportunity to succeed Italian legend Alessandro Del Piero at Juventus before ultimately deciding to move to the Premier League in the summer of 2011. Speaking openly about his career path, the prolific Argentine striker confessed that watching English football icons like Michael Owen during his formative years heavily influenced his lifelong ambition to test himself in the demanding English top flight. At just twenty-three years old, the talented forward made a high-profile switch from Spanish side Atlético Madrid, where he had already established a reputation as one of Europe's most lethal young finishers by scoring over one hundred goals across all competitions.

That pivotal transfer to Manchester City immediately transformed the ambitious club into genuine title contenders under manager Roberto Mancini during the 2011-2012 Premier League campaign. Agüero wasted no time justifying his hefty price tag, cementing his legendary status at the Etihad Stadium on the very final day of his debut season by scoring the dramatic, stoppage-time winner against Queens Park Rangers that secured the club's first top-division league championship in forty-four years. During his illustrious ten-year tenure in Manchester, the iconic number ten amassed an astonishing two hundred and sixty goals in three hundred and ninety appearances, firmly establishing himself as the club's all-time leading goalscorer and claiming five Premier League winner's medals.

Although an unfortunate heart condition forced the legendary talisman to announce his premature retirement in December 2021 following a brief stint with Spanish giants Barcelona, his profound impact on English football remains universally celebrated by supporters worldwide. Today, Manchester City continues to dominate the domestic landscape under Pep Guardiola, building upon the formidable foundations that dynamic world-class talents like Agüero helped establish over a decade ago. As current strikers Erling Haaland and Julian Alvarez now lead the line for the reigning European champions, fans frequently reflect upon the era-defining brilliance of the Argentine icon who chose the Premier League over Turin and forever altered the modern history of English club football.