Manchester City v Everton - Premier League
Sergio Aguero won five Premier League titles with Manchester City (Picture: Getty Images)
Sergio Aguero had a wildly successful 10-year stint at Manchester City, but he has revealed he nearly left to make a sensational move to a Premier League rival.
The Argentina international arrived in the Premier League in 2011, signing from AtleticoMadrid for £35m.
He made an instant impact when he produced one of the greatest debuts in Premier League history.
Aguero rose from the bench on 59 minutes in Manchester City’s clash with Swansea, going on to score twice and provide an assist in a 4-0 win, which proved to be a sign of what was to come.
The 37-year-old would go on to score an incredible 184 goals in just 275 Premier League appearances, netting 260 times in 390 outings across all competitions.
Manchester City never quite got their hands on the Champions League while Aguero was there, but he won five Premier League titles, an FA Cup and six League Cups.
The 101-cap international left in 2021, moving to Barcelona, before a surprise early retirement due to being diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia.
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Manchester City v Crystal Palace - Premier League
Aguero is sixth on the all-time Premier League goal-scorers list with 184 (Picture: Getty Images)
His time in England could have been very different, though, and nearly was a he reveals he was very close to joining Chelsea in 2017.
The Blues won the Premier League in the 2016/17 season under Antonio Conte and Aguero says the Italian wanted to replace the departing Diego Costa with him.
‘In 2017, I was on the verge of going to Chelsea and then Manchester City cancelled the deal [at] the last minute,’ Aguero told La Agusneta.
‘Conte wanted me with [Eden] Hazard. Diego Costa was leaving.’
Chelsea v Manchester United - The Emirates FA Cup Quarter-Final
Antonio Conte and Eden Hazard enjoyed Premier League glory in 2017 (Picture: Getty Images)
Manchester City will be glad they made that decision as Aguero scored 30 goals in the 2017/18 season and went on to star for the club for three more campaigns.
Instead of snapping up the Argentinian, Chelsea signed Alvaro Morata for £58m from Real Madrid.
Conte had clearly forgiven Aguero after blasting the striker for a wild challenge on his defender David Luiz earlier in the 2016/17 season.
Aguero was given a four-match ban for the insane tackle, which even Conte, not someone to shy away from physicality, thought was far too much.
Manchester City v Chelsea - Premier League
Sergio Aguero put in an outrageous challenge on David Luiz (Picture: Getty Images)
Speaking in December 2016, Conte said: ‘I have to check on Saturday if David Luiz is able to play on Sunday because, after this tackle I don’t know.
‘This tackle was very bad so I have to check on his recovery from his injury. It will be very important for him and for me to decide whether he’s able to play on Sunday.
‘That tackle was dangerous, for sure. I watched the images and I was afraid (he might be injured). I was scared. He’s trying to recover from this tackle.
‘I only realised after I saw the replays. That’s when I saw this was very dangerous for David Luiz.’
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