Club legend · Striker
Sergio Agüero Atlético Madrid profile, career and honours
The teenager who filled the Torres void
When Atlético Madrid paid a club-record fee for an 18-year-old Sergio Agüero in the summer of 2006, the scouting report already read like a legend in progress. At Independiente he had become the youngest player ever to appear in the Argentine top flight, aged 15 years and 35 days, taking a record that had belonged to Diego Maradona.
The first season in Madrid was an adjustment. The second was an announcement. With Fernando Torres sold to Liverpool in 2007, Agüero inherited the burden of being the Calderón’s idol and carried it as if it weighed nothing. He struck up a devastating partnership with Diego Forlán and scored 19 league goals in 2007–08, firing Atlético back into the Champions League after more than a decade away. In 2007 he was named Golden Boy, the award for Europe’s best young player.
For five seasons the number 10 was the reason to come to the stadium. Low centre of gravity, brutal acceleration over five metres, and a finish that arrived earlier than any defender expected. Defenders who backed off got shot at from distance; defenders who stepped up got turned. He passed a hundred goals for the club before leaving, at an age when most strikers are still being described as promising, and did it in teams that spent most of those seasons outside the title race.
Hamburg and Monaco
Silverware finally arrived in 2010. In the Europa League final in Hamburg, Atlético beat Fulham 2-1 after extra time, Forlán scoring both with Agüero heavily involved in the winner, and the club’s long trophy drought was over. For supporters who had endured relegation in 2000 and years of mid-table drift, that night in Hamburg carried a weight no later trophy quite matched. That August in Monaco, Atlético beat Internazionale, the reigning European champions, 2-0 to take the UEFA Super Cup, with Agüero adding the second goal. The same year also brought a Copa del Rey final, lost to Sevilla, a reminder of how close that side came to more.
Team sheet
Agüero left Atlético with 101 goals in 234 appearances, a century reached before his 23rd birthday.
The exit
By the summer of 2011 the relationship had run its course. Agüero made clear he wanted a move, and his message to supporters left no room for interpretation. The site’s contemporary report of his farewell statement, Agüero: “I will not be returning to Atlético”, is preserved in the news archive. Manchester City paid a fee reported around £38 million, and within weeks Atlético had reinvested much of it in Radamel Falcao. One era at the Calderón ended and, in hindsight, the next one began.
He was true to his word. At City he became the club’s record goalscorer, won five Premier League titles and wrote the most famous single moment in Premier League history, the 93:20 goal against QPR that decided the 2012 title. With Argentina he won Olympic gold in 2008 and the Copa América in 2021. A heart condition discovered shortly after his move to Barcelona forced his retirement in December 2021.
Atlético supporters never quite disowned him. The exit stung, but the memory that survives is the teenager who chose the Calderón when the club was nowhere near the Champions League, and who gave five seasons of genuine joy during a lean stretch of the club’s history. He belongs on any honest legends page, and the 2010 trophies he helped win are covered in the honours section.
Career at a glance
| Spell | Years | Notes | Spell | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independiente | 2003–2006 | Youngest debutant in Argentine top-flight history | |||
| Atlético Madrid | 2006–2011 | 101 goals; Europa League and UEFA Super Cup in 2010 | |||
| Manchester City | 2011–2021 | Club-record scorer; five Premier League titles | |||
| Barcelona | 2021 | Career ended early by a heart condition |
Sergio Agüero FAQ
How many goals did Sergio Agüero score for Atlético Madrid?
101 goals in 234 appearances in all competitions between 2006 and 2011.
What did Agüero win at Atlético?
The 2009–10 Europa League, won 2-1 against Fulham in Hamburg, and the 2010 UEFA Super Cup, a 2-0 win over Internazionale in which he scored.
Why did Agüero leave Atlético in 2011?
He asked to leave and publicly stated he would not be coming back. Manchester City signed him that July, and Atlético used much of the fee to sign Radamel Falcao.
Did Agüero ever return to Atlético?
No. He stayed at Manchester City for a decade, moved to Barcelona in 2021 and retired that December after a heart condition was discovered.