- Rory Matloob
- 22 December 2023
Have the winners of the Golden Boy award lived up to their potential?
The Golden Boy award is presented every year to the best young player aged 21 or under in Europe. Planet Sport looks back at all the winners.
With 260 goals for Manchester City, Sergio 'Kun' Aguero is the club's all-time leading goalscorer in all competitions and tops the club's scoring charts for the Premier League, continental and domestic cup competitions.
He is regarded as one of the greatest strikers in Premier League history and is particularly remembered for his title-winning goal against Queens Park Rangers in the 94th minute, which saw City win the Premier League on the final day of the 2011/12 season.
That trophy was the first of many which Aguero lifted during his time at the Etihad, having won the title another four times, as well as winning six EFL Cups and an FA Cup.
The Argentine also had success on the European stage with Atletico Madrid, winning the Europa League in 2010 prior to his move to England.
On the international front, Aguero inspired Argentina to Olympic gold at the 2008 Beijing Games, scoring a brace against Brazil in the semi-final before helping overcome Nigeria in the final.
Aguero has been selected for several major tournaments and finished runner-up in the FIFA 2014 World Cup and the Copa America on two occasions before finally getting his hands on a trophy in 2021 when Argentina ended a 28-year wait for the Copa America.
He joined Barcelona on a free transfer in 2021 but was forced into early retirment due to ill health after just five games for the Spanish giants.
Spell with Atletico Madrid
Aguero impressed in the early days of his professional career after becoming the youngest player to feature in the Argentine Primera Division with Independiente at the age of 15 years and 35 days.
That record was previously held by World Cup winner Diego Maradona, who would later become his father-in-law. Atletico Madrid pursued the young, exciting teenager and they broke their transfer record to get him to Spain in 2006, signing him for around £17million.
After the departure of Fernando Torres to Liverpool, Aguero quickly became a crucial part of Los Rojiblancos, especially in his second campaign when he scored 19 goals to help his side achieve their highest league finish in 12 years.
Atletico finished fourth in La Liga for the first time in a decade. Aguero won the Golden Boy award in 2007 - an accolade given to the most impressive young prospect in world soccer.
Two seasons later, he assisted two goals in the 2010 Europa League final against Fulham to earn Atleti their first trophy in 14 years and the first of Aguero's career. That victory qualified them to feature in the UEFA Super Cup, which they also won, in 2011.
Aguero continued to find the back of the net throughout his time at the Vicente Calderon Stadium, finishing with a goal tally of 100 goals in 230 games.
Despite previously stating his intent to stay, following the 2010/11 campaign he posted an article on his official website titled "Time to Leave" and it was not too long before Manchester City clinched his signature. Atleti fans were furious with the nature of his departure, displaying flags with the words "Aguero, We Hope You Die."
Manchester City years
After consistently scoring during his five seasons at Atletico Madrid, Manchester City paid a reported £35million for Aguero in July 2011.
The forward arrived with big expectations having scored 20 La Liga goals in 2010/11 and the Argentine did not disappoint on his debut for City.
Kun netted twice and claimed an assist in a 30-minute appearance off the bench against Swansea City in the Premier League, which was a sign of things to come.
Aguero went on to score 30 goals in all competitions in his maiden season, but none were as important as his last of the campaign. City needed a victory over QPR on the final day to clinch the Premier League title and they did so in the most dramatic of circumstances.
Needing to beat QPR to pip fierce rivals Manchester United, Aguero fired home a 94th-minute winner to give City a 3-2 victory. The goal, which will forever be etched into the history of English soccer, meant his side were top-flight champions for the first time since 1968.
Aguero continued to write his name into City folklore, setting a number of club records. Those included netted the most hat-tricks in all competitions with 16 and the most goals in a Premier League season - 26 in 2014/15.
He was twice named the club's Player of the Year and was also a part of the PFA Team of the Year on two occasions.
Despite numerous long-term injuries, Aguero scored 260 goals in 390 appearances, making him the club's all-time top goalscorer. He won 15 trophies at the Etihad Stadium, making him the most decorated City player in history.
He narrowly missed out on a 16th in his last game for the club, coming off the bench in City's 1-0 Champions League final defeat to Chelsea on May 29, 2021.
Switch to Barca
In the summer of 2021, Barcelona officially confirmed the signing of Aguero. He signed a two-year deal with a buy-out of £75million.
The striker was subsequently ruled out for three months in October 2021 after experiencing chest pains and breathing difficulties during a game against Alaves.
He was diagnosed with an irregular heartbeat which eventually forced him to retire in December 2021, at the age of 33.
He played five times for Barcelona, with his only goal coming in a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
Argentina and international soccer
Aguero started his youth international career with a bang. Playing alongside Lionel Messi, Kun twice won the Under-20 World Cup. At one of those tournaments, in the Netherlands, he roomed with Messi and it was there that they formed a strong friendship which remains to this day. Indeed, this is one of the reasons why Aguero moved from City to Barcelona.
Aguero earned his first call-up to the senior Argentina squad in 2006 and made his debut at the Emirates Stadium in a friendly against Brazil. He scored twice against the same opposition two years later in the semi-final of the Beijing Olympics and went on to win gold with his country.
He made his first World Cup appearance in 2010 as Argentina made it to the quarter-finals, before then helping his nation reach the final four years later in Brazil.
Lionel Messi and Sergio Aguero celebrate a goal for Argentina
Aguero scored a penalty in a semi-final shootout against the Netherlands and started in the final. However, he was unable to make a significant impact, with Germany defeating Argentina 1-0. He was on the scoresheet twice at the next tournament in France, including their 4-3 defeat to eventual champions France in the round of 16.
Aguero has a better scoring ratio in the Copa America format - a South American knockout tournament - having scored nine goals in his five tournaments. Argentina finished as runners-up two years on the trot in 2015 and 2016, before taking third place in 2019.
They finally ended a 28-year wait for a trophy in 2021, beating Brazil 1-0 in the final, although Aguero's involvement was limited compared to previous tournaments. He remained on the bench for both the semi-final and final but did provide an assist in the 4-1 quarter-final win over Bolivia.
Personal life
Aguero was previously married to Gianinna Maradona, the youngest daughter of soccer legend Diego Maradona. The pair were together for four years before their split in 2012 and have a son, Benjamin, who was born in 2009.
After their break-up, World Cup winner Maradona said: "He's a wimp who I don't even want to name. In my daughter's next meeting with a lawyer, I want to be by her side. We'll see who can talk. The next time I want to be there to see if he (Aguero) says anything."
As well as having Maradona as a grandfather, Aguero's son, Benjamin, boasts Lionel Messi as his godfather.
He is currently dating model Sofia Calzetti.
Aguero's mother, Adriana, was a housewife and his father, Leonel del Castillo, was a taxi driver. They were both teenagers when he was born in 1988. That led to some complications with authorities and so he took his mother's surname.
He has six siblings: Yesica, Gabriela, Maira, Daiana, Mauritius and Gaston. His nickname 'Kun' was given to him by his grandparents due to similarities with a Japanese cartoon character called 'Kum-Kum' who liked to cause trouble.
Net worth
Sergio Aguero has a net worth of around $80million. According to Forbes, Aguero was the 84th highest-paid athlete in the world in 2018, earning $22.6million.
He has since dropped out of their top 100.
The Times reported that Aguero signed a two-year contract worth £130,000 per week at Camp Nou. That was roughly half of what he was on at City.
