Manchester City striker Sergio Agüero will leave the club this summer when his contract expires, the Premier League outfit have confirmed.
The Argentina international is City’s record goal-scorer having amassed 257 goals in 384 appearances since arriving from Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2011 and is the highest-scoring overseas player in Premier League history.
Agüero, who turns 33 in June, is most famous for his added-time goal in the final league match of the 2011-12 season against QPR which secured the club’s first Premier League title.
“Sergio’s contribution to Manchester City over the last 10 years cannot be overstated,” said City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak.
“His legend will be indelibly etched into the memories of everyone who loves the club and maybe even in those who simply love football.
“This is not yet the moment for farewell words and speeches. There is still much to achieve in the remainder of the time we have with Sergio, and we look forward to his contributions to the challenges which lay ahead.
“In the meantime, it gives me great pleasure to announce that we will be commissioning an artist to create a statue of Sergio to live at the Etihad Stadium alongside the ones under construction for Vincent [Kompany] and David [Silva].
“And we look forward to the opportunity to bid Sergio a fitting farewell at the end of the season.”
City are working on plans to mark his departure on the final home game of the season against Everton and they are hopeful thousands of supporters will be permitted to attend Etihad Stadium when lockdown measures are eased further.
In addition to becoming the club’s record goal-scorer – which he achieved by overtaking Eric Brook’s 78-year record with a goal in the 4-2 win at Napoli in 2017 – he also has a Premier League high 12 hat-tricks which he achieved with a treble against Aston Villa in January 2020 to surpass Alan Shearer’s landmark.
Agüero has won four Premier League titles – with a fifth looking likely in his final season. He could also still add to his tally of one FA Cup and five League Cups before his departure.
