PIECE OF CAKE
Win the Champions League for Aguero
MANCHESTER CITY once got into trouble for not presenting Yaya Toure with a cake to celebrate his 31st birthday.
The incident in 2014 blew up to such a proportion that the Ivorian almost left the Etihad, and later admitted the club’s ignorance had left him “damaged”, as well as having a lasting effect on his daily life.
A bit extreme perhaps, irrespective of how much we all love cake.
But heaven help those same club bosses if they don’t make a meal of giving Sergio Aguero the send-off he deserves at the end of this season.
The obligatory statue and mosaic have been commissioned to recognise the remarkable achievements of Aguero, following what has been a decade of sheer brilliance from the Argentine.
Fair enough. Casting Aguero in bronze alongside David Silva and Vincent Kompany will be a fitting tribute to the ‘Holy Trinity’ of stars who did more than anyone else to make City the major force in English football.
City like to make a song and dance when iconic figures depart.
Even former manager Manuel Pellegrini was given a painting by LS Lowry, costing a small fortune, when he left in 2016 – and he had been sacked to make way for Pep Guardiola.
The problem remains that Covid-19 could still deprive the Premier League leaders of the chance to make a fuss of Aguero before he leaves.
It would be a travesty if there are still no fans inside the Etihad when City host Everton on the final day of the season on May 23.
That’s when Guardiola’s side will be presented with the Premier League trophy, but will Aguero be able to take a lap of honour and soak up the adulation, gratitude and respect he deserves?
Let’s hope so, because Aguero has been
arguably the greatest striker of the modern era, someone who stuck to the game and the goals.
How he was only once named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year is as unfathomable as it is scandalous.
But there is a leaving present City can give to Aguero that not even a combination of Covid and sheer ignorance can ruin.
Perhaps the greatest gift City could provide him with would be the chance to lift the Champions League trophy in Istanbul on May 29.
Forget Lowry, a framed picture of Aguero clutching the biggest prize in club football would be the most fitting addition to his vast collection of memorabilia back at his home in Argentina.
Conquering Europe remains the one thing Aguero hasn’t managed to achieve, but if he could, it would elevate him above Silva and Kompany as the club’s greatest and most successful player.
City owe it to Aguero to make sure he finishes his astonishing career in English football on another high.
Nothing will ever compare to when he scored with the last kick of the season to crown City champions for the first time in 44 years in 2012. But conquering Europe would come close, making it the perfect finish for the perfect player.