At. Madrid sign Argie young star

By European Football
June 1 2006

The Spanish side have landed Sergio Agüero, a player compared to Messi in prospect and quality. The fee is a transfer record for the Argentinean league and one of Madrid’s highest: 23 million euros. Agüero, aged 17, has made a huge impression this year and is said to become the next best player.

After a month of expectation, the transfer was finally announced yesterday and the young player will travel to Spain on Sunday to take the medical. Bayern Munich were the first team to put their eyes on him and make an approach, but negotiations didn’t come to an agreement. Later, Karl Heinz Rumenigge, Bayern directive, accused Independiente’s president Julio Comparada of being corrupt, since he would only accept the offer if there was some money going directly to his account.

This was seen as an attempt to break the negotiations between Independiente and Atlético Madrid, but both sides reached an agreement and Agüero, who privileged going to Spain due to language, accepted the contract offer, much higher than the one he had in Independiente.

Sergio Agüero, who plays as a striker but takes part in both creating and finishing, was, with only 17 years, arguably the best player in the Argentinean league, having played 52 matches (made his first team debut at the age of 15, 1 month and 3 days, another record for the Argentine football) and scoring over 20 goals. He was the leading man in his team, considered to be one of the ‘big’ teams, with his classy and talented game as well as his personality.

He was part of the U-20 team that Lionel Messi led to the World Championship, but for being only 16 (the youngest in the tournament), he wasn’t allowed to play a big role. And still today many people think he should have been called up to go to Germany. Just us Argentina has all its hopes in Messi, Agüero appears as the ideal partner for him for the next 10 years, and there is a strong sense that with them on the field, Argentina has a great chance of winning South Africa 2010.