Manchester City's Sergio 'Kun' Aguero has been drawing comparison to Diego Maradona since his career began. Being a talented Argentine forward, the 'next Maradona' comparisons were inescapable, however Aguero has shouldered the burden and developed into one of the hottest properties in the game; it's no wonder City chose to splash £38m on him.
Still only in his early 20s, Aguero already has a wealth of experience under his belt; he became the youngest player to debut in the Argentine First Division when he appeared for his first club, Independiente, aged just 15 years and 35 days – breaking the record previously held by - who else but - Diego Maradona.
It did not take long for clubs around the world to notice Aguero's potential, and after just a couple of seasons of senior football, it seemed inevitable that the teenager would make the career-enhancing move to European football sooner rather than later. Three years into his Independiente career, it was Atletico Madrid that finally sealed the deal with this burgeoning talent for an undisclosed fee reported to be over €20 million.
In May 2006, Aguero joined forces with Spanish star Fernando Torres, creating one of the most potentially formidable attacking partnerships in Europe. While Torres' decision to part with his boyhood club for Liverpool in 2007 would ordinarily have been cause for concern, his protégé Aguero did not take long to fill his boots, forming a lethal partnership with fellow South American Diego Forlan.
Aguero finished third top-scorer in the 2007-08 season and was runner-up in the Trofeo Alfredo di Stefano award for best player in La Liga, as he helped Atletico to finish fourth in the league.
In May 2010 he helped Atletico win the inaugural Europa League, assisting both goal in a 2-1 victory over Fulham. His transfer to Roberto Mancini's Man City came a year later, and with 23 Premier League goals in a sparkling debut season in England, he helped City to the title. Indeed, it was his dramatic last gasp goal against QPR on the final day that sealed it.
Aguero is a regular in the International side, having made his senior debut in a friendly against Brazil in September 2006. Kun shone during the 2007 FIFA-U20 World Cup in Canada, with his outstanding performance being rewarded in the form of the Golden Boot for being top goal-scorer and Golden Ball for being the best player of the tournament. He was also involved in Argentina's Olympic victory in Beijing 2008. He was an integral part of the Argentina squad, whose neat, passing game impressed punters at the World Cup in South Africa in 2010, coached by none other than Maradona.
His links with Diego don't stop on the football pitch. Aguero is engaged to Giannina Maradona, daughter of Diego, and the couple gave birth to a son named Benjamin on February 19, 2009.