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1988
BORN IN BUENOS AIRES
1998
JOINED THE INDEPENDIENTE OF AVELLANEDA
2003
YOUNGEST PLAYER TO EVER DEBUT IN THE FIRST DIVISION AT 15 YEARS OLD
2005
BECAME A REGULAR ON INDEPENDIENTE’S MAIN SQUAD
LED ARGENTINA’S U-20 SQUAD TO YOUTH WORLD CUP CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE NETHERLANDS
LED ARGENTINA’S U-20 SQUAD TO YOUTH WORLD CUP CHAMPIONSHIP IN THE NETHERLANDS
BECAME A REGULAR ON INDEPENDIENTE’S MAIN SQUAD
2007
LED U-20 ARGENTINIAN TEAM TO WORLD CUP VICTORY
2008
PLAYED ON THE ARGENTINIAN OLYMPIC TEAM THAT WON GOLD IN BEIJING
2006
TRANSFERRED TO ATLETICO MADRID
2011
SIGNED WITH MANCHESTER CITY
2021
SIGNED WITH FC BARCELONA
2021
DECEMBER 2021 ANNOUNCES HIS RETIREMENT FROM PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL
1. Birth
Even though his family lived in the district of Gonzalez Catan of La Matanza, part of the Greater Buenos Aires area, Sergio was born at Piñero Hospital in the city of Buenos Aires. The hospital received Adriana Agüero - who was then just 18 years old - after she had been referred by a clinic in Greater Buenos Aires that did not have the means to treat the complications that her pregnancy presented. So, on the 2nd of June of 1988, Adriana left her humble home in La Matanza with her boyfriend, Leonel del Castillo - a promising young football player who would later become part of the senior reserve team of San Martin of Tucuman, one of the best teams of that province. After a long journey, they arrived to the hospital.
At 3:23 pm that day, their second son was born - a 9.7 pound baby who they named Sergio Leonel. As both Leonel del Castillo and Adriana Agüero were minors - Leonel was just two years older than her - they were only able to leave the hospital once an older relative signed the release. For that reason, they were not able to register the child´s last name as his father´s. And so, the name Leonel and Adriana had chosen was set down on the official record, but with the surname of his mother: Sergio Leonel Agüero.
3. Soccer in his blood
In 1991, when Sergio was three years old, his family moved to a small, simple house just outside of Los Eucaliptus, a shantytown bordering the districts of Quilmes and Bernal. This collection of poor houses was relatively small when compared to other similar towns of Greater Buenos Aires, but it had as many as three vacant lots that had been designated as the town´s football fields. Residents, both young and old, gathered in these lots to play for long hours. It was in these fields that Sergio started to display signs of his talent with the ball - as years went by, they would manifest more clearly. Under Leonels watchful eye and Adriana´s strict stance on rewards and punishments, Sergio joined his first youth teams in different sports clubs of southern Buenos Aires - going down the same path that his father had treaded when he was a younger, in Tucuman. He performed outstandingly in five-a-side tourneys as well as in the so-called "dirt field" football, enrolling in the junior system of several clubs - Loma Alegre, 1 de Mayo, 20 de Junio, Pellerano Rojo, Bristol and Los Primos. He was part of that enormous seedbed of talent that urban Buenos Aires becomes every weekend, with thousands of children aiming to win the highly-contested annual tournaments. Kun knew to make a name of himself as a skilful and decisive striker in these competitions, garnering attention from scouts that saw a great future in the First Division ahead of him.
5. Breakthrough
In 2005, a year and a half later, Sergio had become a regular in Independiente´s main squad. His outstanding performance earned him a place in the Argentina national U-20 team, despite being 3 years below the cap, and then proceeded to win the U-20 World Cup hosted by the Netherlands. The final match against Nigeria was decided by a penalty awarded to Sergio and scored by Lionel Messi. Kun dedicated that victory to his friend Emiliano Molina, who had played with him throughout all his term in Independiente´s youth system and tragically passed away in a car accident during the World Cup. Shortly after returning to Argentina, he also chose to dedicate to his friends memory a superb victory in the local derby against Racing de Avellaneda, where Kun scored a goal that will remain in the annals of Argentinean football. Kun, just 17 years old but already the idol of the crowds, had to part from his beloved team in 2006 when he was transferred to Atlético Madrid for 23 million euros - a record-breaking figure for the country. He had played in Independiente for 54 local matches and 2 international events, having scored 23 goals (see Fact Sheet and Statistics). The club used the money they received from the transfer to remodel the Libertadores de America stadium, finally reopened in 2009.
7. Manchester CITY
In July 27th of 2011, Sergio signed for Manchester City, and was set for his debut match with the Citizens on August 15th of that year, issued with the number 16 shirt. It was the first round of the Premier League, in a match against Swansea ? the first and only Welsh team in the competition. Agüero came on as a substitute for De Jong in the 59th minute, and in just 10 minutes he had already proven his skill with a goal, an assist and several magnificent plays. During injury time, he scored a goal with a right-foot 30 yard strike, the fourth goal for the team. After this incredible debut, Sergio stated that "this could be the beginning of something great". And it was. On May 13th of 2012, Kun eked out the goal during injury time that allowed Man City to defeat QPR 3-2 and claim the title of the Premier League once more after 44 years.
In the 2018/2019 season, Sergio and Manchester City achieve the famed Quadruple, and take all national titles: the Community Shield, the League Cup, the FA Cup and the Premier League, with Kun one more as top scorer. 2020's season, marked by the COVID-19 pandemic, saw City take the League Cup. The next season was Sergio's last for the Citizens, winning another League Cup and the Premier League title. At the time of his farewell to Manchester City in 2020-2021 season, Kun had played 389 matches, scored 260 goals, and won 15 titles – 5 Premier Leagues across 10 seasons. The stats crown Aguero as the most lethal striker in Manchester City's history, the foreigner to score most goals and hat-tricks in the Premier League, and the player to score most for a single team in the Premier League. Nevertheless, stats aside, Sergio parted from Manchester City as a legend, leaving a major legacy as one of the key players to transform Manchester City into one of the best FCs in the world.
2. "Kun"
The Agüero-Castillo´s had arrived to Buenos Aires from the northern province of Tucuman in 1987 along with Jessica, their infant daughter. They had high hopes for their future, but their youth and the precarious situation Argentina was going through - the country would soon plunge into a deep economic crisis - did not pose as favourable omens. As it stood, Leonel could only garner a meagre income by playing for local football teams that drafted him for his skill. Eventually, they moved to the previously-mentioned house in Gonzalez Catan. When Sergio was 2 years old, they moved to Florencio Varela, in southern Greater Buenos Aires. This is where the Agüero-Castillo family became close friends with their neighbours, the Chetti´s. Jorge Chetti, head of the household, would be the one to give Sergio the nickname we all know. The source of the moniker was a Japanese animated series (originally called Wanpaku Amukashi Kum Kum) that Sergio used to watch on public TV when he was young. Sergio loved to watch the adventures of the mischievous cave-boy and his family, who lived at the foot of Kum Kum Mountain. Soon enough, he would be muttering "kum kum" constantly, and that would be the inspiration for his nickname, which is now world famous. And so began the times of Kun Agüero.
4. Independiente de Avellaneda
Sergio entered the youth system of Independiente of Avellaneda, then under the leadership of two long-standing members of that football club - "Mencho" Balbuena and Nestor Rambert. Each weekend, Kun enjoyed playing a new match with his team. With the help of Jose Maria Astarloa, a lawyer who had worked for renowned business man Samuel Liberman, the Agüero-Castillo family was able to purchase a new, more comfortable house in western Quilmes. They were then a much bigger family - Jessica and Sergio had new siblings in Daiana, Gaby, Mayra, Mauricio and Gaston. The promising talent of Sergio - who was then 11 years old - had allowed them to leave behind the hardships that people in the poorer areas of Greater Buenos Aires endure.
During his years in Independiente´s junior divisions, Sergio took part of many tourneys in his category countrywide - some organized by the Association of Football of Argentina -, and Kun never failed to impress. In 2001, Independientes junior team managed to secure the competition with a victory over River Plate´s squad, in a match played at Atlanta´s stadium. Miguel Angel Tojo, then head of Argentina´s national youth divisions, recollects: "The team´s foundation was Sergio along with Emiliano Molina as goalkeeper" He attended the final match, and shortly after, he picked Kun to play in the U-15 national team. With Agüero as team leader, the junior team of Independiente took first place on the Apertura season held during the beginning of 2002, and second place on the Clausura season on the second half of that year. Little did Kun know that the year after he would be the youngest player to debut in the national senior First Division, being 15 years and 35 days old ? at a younger age than other Argentinean exponents as Diego Maradona, Carlos Tevez, Javier Saviola or Pablo Aimar, or world-renowned players such as Pele or Ronaldo. By then, the Agüero-Castillos had negotiated a contract for multinational agency IMG to represent their son.
6. Atlético de Madrid
After one season getting used to his new environment, Sergio Agüero managed to win the hearts of the colchoneros with his majestic performance, becoming a fan favourite. The stadium echoed with the war cry "Kun, Kun!" - showing the crowds recognised his flair and determination on the field. Sergio´s appearance on the FIFA U-20 World Cup of 2007 held in Canada was a key factor - he led the national team into winning another trophy, picking up the mantle left by Leonel Messi to be selected as best player and become the top goalscorer of the competition (see Honours). It was after this event that his performance in the Spanish team started to improve considerably. Then, in 2008, he was part of the Olympic team that took gold in the games hosted in Beijing. In May of 2010, Atlético Madrid took first place of the Europa League - the team´s first continental title in 48 years. A few months later, Kun joined the Argentina national team that played in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, debuting on the match against South Korea during the qualifying round. Back in Europe, he assisted Atlético Madrid in winning the UEFA Super Cup against Internazionale by scoring the second of the two goals that secured the match. During the Spanish football season of 2010-2011, Sergio scored 27 goals - reaching a total of 101 in his five seasons along with team. In July of 2011, he signed the transfer to Manchester City, for a record fee for the English team.
8. FC BARCELONA
On May 31st, 2021, Sergio was presented as the latest addition to FC Barcelona's squad, after signing a 2 year contract. Joan Laporta and the rest of the board of directors held a welcome ceremony for Kun, and after the reception, Sergio was able to step on Camp Nou's field wearing the Blaugrana colors and participate in a photo shoot.
During the press conference, Kun was happy to be part of the "greatest club in the world" and reaffirmed his commitment to achieve great things, giving it all with his team-mates to do so.
On October 30th of 2021, while facing Alavés for a league match, Kun called for a sub after feeling pain in his heart. Early diagnoses suggested he had suffered an arrhythmia and that he should stay off the field for 90 days. A month and a half went by, as Sergio underwent further studies. After counseling with his physicians, Sergio decided to conclude his career as a professional football player. A press conference was called at Camp Nou. In attendance, the board of Barcelona FC, representatives of Atlético Madrid, and Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola and Txiki Beguiristain. Kun made it official on that occasion. He has played five matches for Barcelona, two as part of the main squad, and scored his last goal on the derby against Real Madrid.
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