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When Manchester City moved to sign 23-year-old Sergio Aguero for £35million in the summer of 2011, the club were bringing in one of the most highly rated young strikers in world football.

Aguero joined the Etihad five years after first arriving in Europe as a teenager, when Atletico Madrid paid €20million to take him from Independiente in Argentina.

During his spell in the Spanish capital, some of the biggest and most exciting clubs in Europe were regularly linked with the Argentine forward.

Juventus were among the many sides pursuing Aguero that summer, with the Italian giants preparing for the closing chapter of club great Alessandro Del Piero’s career in Turin.

For Aguero, though, a different challenge proved more attractive than taking on the task of following a legendary figure such as Del Piero.

“The day I learned that Manchester City wanted to sign me, I was with Argentina at the 2011 Copa America,” Aguero told FourFourTwo.

“I had been at Atletico Madrid for five years, and my agent Hernan Reguera called to tell me that City were very interested.”

Although the offer from City immediately caught the attention of the young striker, he knew very well that there were other clubs keen on him too.

“Juventus were also very interested and were close to completing a deal – at that time, they were getting ready to part company with Alessandro Del Piero.”

At that stage, City were steadily growing in stature as Sheikh Mansour’s investment continued to transform the club, but the attraction for Aguero was not only about joining a team on the verge of becoming a Premier League force.

“But the truth is that when Manchester City came in for me, my mind was made up, because I had always liked the English league,” he said, before explaining his admiration for one of the Premier League’s best-known forwards.

“Michael Owen was an idol of mine, I looked up to him, and I had a dream of playing in the Premier League.”

Aguero would soon seal his move to Manchester City, and over the next decade that decision was fully justified as he became the club’s all-time top scorer and helped City win five Premier League titles.

Sergio Aguero was an ambassador for FIFA Hospitality at this summer’s World Cup