SERGIO AGUERO

2011- GAMES 370 ( as of July 7) CLUB MANCHESTER CITY

BEFORE City hadn’t won a top- flight title since 1968. Their new Abu Dhabi- based owners’ vision had so far delivered just an FA Cup: the club had loftier ambitions.

LEGACY Aguero was handed 30 minutes of leash on his debut, replacing Nigel de Jong against Swansea in August 2011. It was the moment that City’s revolution was connected to the mains: their new signing scored twice and assisted David Silva in a 4- 0 victory.

It rather set the tone. King Kun arrived in a team led by jester Mario Balotelli and gave them a ruthlessness they had never enjoyed in the modern era. Aguero then fired home 30 goals in his first campaign – including that one in the finale against QPR – and only once in his opening eight seasons did his tally in all competitions drop below 28. Goalscoring records fell before him: by November 2017, he was City’s No. 1 marksman. But it wasn’t just the ability – Aguero had the razor- sharp mentality to match. Always prolific, not always pretty. “Look, people will kick me,” the Argentine admitted to FFT. “You get used to it and focus on not losing the ball to make them more angry.”

He has been integral under every City manager since; the one constant through his club’s evolution. The striker has been classy, consistent and the standard to which all other players around him have to deliver. He was signed as a statement of intent; when he eventually departs, it will be as a definitive Sky Blues legend.

“Sergio doesn’t lose one ball,” beamed current gaffer Pep Guardiola. “He’s one of the most incredible players I’ve ever seen in this league. The records [ he’s broken] are a compliment to him.”

BEST MOMENT There can be only one – that injury- time jackhammer to steal the title away from United in 2012. His name was never pronounced the same again.