The race for Borussia Dortmund forward Erling Haaland is on.

Haaland is reportedly being chased by several top clubs, including Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona.

Each club will be looking for an edge in the race for the Norwegian.


TOP STORY – BARCELONA NOT KEEN ON POGBA-HAALAND PACKAGE

Barcelona are unlikely to bring in both Haaland and Paul Pogba, reports SPORT.

Agent Mino Raiola, who represents both players, is reported to have recently met with Barca president Joan Laporta.

Young striker Haaland is unmistakably an appealing player to Barcelona, but they would need to find the funds to buy him from Borussia Dortmund. Barcelona, who have major financial issues, are said to be wary of taking on Manchester United star Pogba's wages, and he may not be an ideal technical fit for coach Xavi. Pogba's United contract is due to expire at the end of this season.

Manchester City are also readying themselves to chase Haaland but will not over-spend, reports the Manchester Evening News.

ROUND-UP

- Cashed-up Newcastle United are bullish about their prospects of signing Atletico Madrid's England defender Kieran Trippier in January, according to Football Insider. Talks between the Magpies and Trippier are reportedly already under way.

- Premier League trio Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United could be all set to make a move to sign Fiorentina's Dusan Vlahovic after he rejected a bumper extension offer, reports Talksport.

- Paris Saint-Germain have joined the queue of clubs hoping to sign out-of-favour Juventus midfielder Arthur Melo, reports Calciomercato. Arthur has also been linked with Lazio.

- Fenerbahce are set to swoop for Luuk de Jong, who is on loan at Barcelona from Sevilla, claims Mundo Deportivo. Barca are eager to let him leave from his loan.

- Barcelona have set an asking price of €90million (£77m) for Frenkie de Jong according to Fichajes, amid interest from Bayern Munich and Liverpool.

Mikel Arteta hailed the influence of captain Alexandre Lacazette as he expressed his delight with his senior players after Arsenal's 2-0 win over West Ham.

Lacazette, who saw a second-half penalty saved by Lukasz Fabianski, wore the captain's armband on Wednesday after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang was stripped of his captaincy the previous day following a "disciplinary breach".

Arteta's side dominated throughout and Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock after the interval with his seventh Premier League strike, Gabriel Jesus (16) the only Brazilian to score more times in the competition before his 21st birthday.

Substitute Emile Smith Rowe sealed the victory late on with Arsenal's 10th English top-flight goal scored by a player aged 21 or under in the 2021-22 campaign, which is more than any other side this season.

While the Gunners' young guns downed West Ham to move into the Champions League spots, Arteta praised his senior leadership group following Arsenal's 11th win in 12 league games against the Hammers.

"I think they were good all of them and the senior players led by example," Arteta told reporters. "We shared the goals. It's important for Gabi [Martinelli] to score a goal like today. Everybody, I'm really pleased.

"The players play for the club and the pride that we expect from them. I was really happy from the beginning, because we knew that we had to play really good today to beat West Ham."

Asked on the performance of Lacazette, Arteta added: "Well he's the next in line and he's taken [the captaincy], the way everybody played today with such pride and commitment. I'm really proud of it.

"Laca has always been like that in the dressing room. You see the way he acts with the young players, how willing he is to help. It's in his nature. He's not a selfish player. He's happy when he makes the rest better, and he's like that in the dressing room as well."

David Moyes has never won at Arsenal in 18 Premier League attempts, extending the record for the longest such managerial run in the competition without an away win against a single side.

Alongside Moyes' personal poor record, West Ham were also displaced in the top four by Arsenal, but Arteta insisted his side boasting a Champions League spot is irrelevant at this point of the campaign.

"No, because the league finishes in May," Arteta added when asked whether he was satisfied with Arsenal's top-four spot. "But it's much better than where we were, and we want to be higher.

"We need to find that consistency - we know the level of this league. This league is absolutely ruthless and tomorrow is always different to today, so let's prepare for the next game.

"When we went to Old Trafford, I think we played much better than last year but we lost the game - and that's where we have to come away from those grounds when we get the performance with the points. That's the next challenge."

Lacazette can be expected to lead the line, and perhaps team, once again at Leeds United on Saturday after Arteta said he had no news on the Aubameyang situation.

The carnage of the Premier League festive schedule is well and truly upon us.

Arsenal, who stripped Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of his captaincy on Tuesday, snatched West Ham's Champions League spot with a comfortable victory in Wednesday's headline clash.

Just 11 miles away in London, Crystal Palace hosted Southampton following a 3-1 defeat of Everton but they could only muster a draw against Ralph Hasenhuttl's side.

Brighton and Hove Albion succumbed to yet another defeat against Wolves in the other clash of the day, after Watford's visit to Burnley was postponed due to COVID-19 cases within the Hornets' squad.

Here, Stats Perform unpacks the pick of Opta data from the top-flight action.

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham: Youth shines again for Arteta's top-four chasers

West Ham have a woeful record at Emirates Stadium and extended that poor run as they lost their 11th league match in 12 games at Arsenal's ground, trading fourth spot with Mikel Arteta's side, who were inspired by two of their young stars.

Gabriel Martinelli broke the deadlock in the second half with his seventh Premier League strike, Gabriel Jesus (16) the only Brazilian with more goals in the competition before their 21st birthday.

Vladimir Coufal then became the 15th Czech Republic player to receive his marching orders in the Premier League when he received a contentious second caution for bringing down Alexandre Lacazette, who saw his penalty saved by Lukasz Fabianski.

Lacazette's miss may have been Arsenal's third consecutive failed penalty in the league – doing so for the first time since 1992 – but substitute Emile Smith Rowe sealed the victory with the Gunners' 10th goal scored by an under-21 in the competition this season, which is more than any other side.

David Moyes, who became the fourth manager to 600 games in the Premier League, has never won at Arsenal in 18 top-flight attempts, extending the record for the most times a manager has played away against a side in the competition without winning.

Brighton and Hove Albion 0-1 Wolves: Saiss scores as Seagulls grounded once more 

Wolves headed to the South Coast without a win or a goal in four top-flight games, facing five consecutive blanks for the first time since 2003, but held on in a marathon slog against Graham Potter's timid Brighton.

Roman Saiss nodded in what proved to be the winner for Bruno Lage's side on the stroke of half-time, as Wolves scored their first top-flight goal before the interval in seven matches – dating back to when they netted twice in the first half against Everton in early November.

The Morocco international now has five league goals to his name since the start of last season – only Raul Jimenez (nine) and Ruben Neves (six) have managed more for Wolves in that period.

Wolves, though, had to wait for their win as they battled for 106 minutes and 29 seconds of action in total in the longest English top-flight game since Manchester City and Liverpool in September 2017 (108 minutes and 35 seconds).

In contrasting fortunes, struggling Brighton are still without a win in all competitions since beating Swansea in the EFL Cup in September, while the Seagulls have not tasted top-flight victory in a club record 11 games.

Crystal Palace 2-2 Southampton: Broja form continues as Ayew breaks duck

The Premier League's most fragile away defence in 2021 travelled to Selhurst Park having conceded 50 times on the road, but were unlucky to not walk away with all three points against Patrick Vieira's side.

Wilfried Zaha struck first after just 119 seconds as he fired another away goal past Ralph Hasenhuttl's team, with what was Palace's fastest Premier League goal since May, which also came against Southampton.

However, James Ward-Prowse restored parity with his 11th direct free-kick goal in the league – only David Beckham (18), Thierry Henry and Gianfranco Zola (both 12) have scored more in the competition.

Armando Broja deservedly nudged the visitors ahead with his fourth finish in six league starts, with Mason Greenwood (also four) the only played aged 20 or younger to have scored as many times in the competition this season.

Jordan Ayew then ensured the sides shared the spoils with his first goal in 43 Premier League games, his last coming against Leeds United in November 2020, while the Saints claimed an unwanted record as the first top-flight side to ship more than 50 away goals in a single year since West Brom in 1985 (52).

Martin Tyler says he "knew" Sergio Aguero would score the goal to win Manchester City the Premier League in 2012 as soon as he touched the ball.

Aguero, who announced his retirement on Wednesday due to a heart condition, scored the decisive goal in the 95th minute of City's last game of the season against Queens Park Rangers to seal a 3-2 win that earned them their maiden Premier League title.

City finished with 89 points that year, the same as local rivals Manchester United, but claimed the trophy on goal difference.

Commentator Tyler marked the occasion with an iconic piece of commentary, and is keen to credit his colleagues for their part in helping him frame the moment.

"I have to pay compliments to my Sky colleagues and the director Tony Mills, who was aware of what was going on at Sunderland, and we had the ability to split the screen," Tyler exclusively told Stats Perform.

"There's a wonderful sequence which Tony is responsible for where the screen is split, you can see the Manchester United players watching our monitors on the pitch at the Stadium of Light and then he moved away from the split back to me full screen of what was happening at the Etihad as the move unfolded, and Balotelli is winning the ball.

"That was all captured in full-screen and, in my case, full volume. I guess it was an amazing moment.

"The only thing I can tell you about the actual moment commentating on it is when Aguero took a touch on the ball I knew he'd score. I just knew, man. He's that good.

"He told me, nine years later, that he just hit it as hard as he could and hoped for the best!"

Tyler reveals that the aspect of that piece of commentary he is most pleased with was his momentary pause as the City fans celebrated in the stadium.

"The thing I'm most proud about is the silence between the 'Aguerooo' and that comment because it was the noisiest stadium that I can remember," Tyler continued.

"I saw [Mark Hughes] by coincidence the next evening and he said he'd never ever heard a noise in a football ground like that.

"And remember Mark played for Barcelona and Bayern as well as his years at Manchester United; been a manager for a good many years.

"And for him to say that I think, had I tried to say anything between the naming and the time I next spoke, I think it would have just got drowned out and it would have spoiled the moment.

"So that kind of that wasn't a deliberate thing to do. I just knew if I spoke, nobody would hear me. I'm a football lover. I'm sure so many people in the stadium are watching around the world would have felt exactly the same way.

"You know, it's instinct, it's what we do. It's why we're addicted to the game. It was special, and probably not a week goes by when I'm not asked about it. And I'm always happy to talk about it because yeah, it was great to be there."

Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe struck in the second half to earn Arsenal a 2-0 win over West Ham at the Emirates Stadium to move the Gunners into the Premier League's top four.

Following a keenly contested first half in which Kieran Tierney struck the bar, Martinelli raced into the box in the 48th minute to slot a classy finish into the bottom corner.

The Gunners continued to assert their dominance in the second half as Alexandre Lacazette won a penalty, with Vladimir Coufal receiving a second yellow and a red for the challenge, but the France international's spot-kick was saved by former Arsenal goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski.

However, substitute Smith Rowe lashed home late on to secure an important result that sees Arsenal leapfrog the Hammers into fourth place, one point clear of their London rivals after 17 games.

The Gunners went close before the interval, Tierney racing onto a loose ball and blasting towards the top-left corner, only for Fabianski to get the slightest of touches to turn it onto the crossbar.

Martinelli scored the decisive goal shortly after the restart, latching onto Lacazette's sublime throughball to curl firmly into the bottom-right corner.

Lacazette was involved again in the 66th minute as Coufal slid in to win the ball from him in the box, fouling the striker and being sent off for a second bookable offence, but the Arsenal forward's penalty was kept out in the bottom-right corner by Fabianski.

With only 10 men, West Ham were caught out as they pushed for an equaliser, with Smith Rowe coming off the bench to drive towards the edge of the box and steer a left-footed drive into the bottom-right corner to seal an important win.

Sergio Aguero insisted his retirement is not a tragedy as he looked back on an outstanding career that taught him to "turn defeat into victory".

The former Manchester City and Barcelona forward announced his retirement on Wednesday after suffering from a heart problem.

Aguero struggled with chest discomfort and dizziness, which were later attributed to a heart arrhythmia, in Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Deportivo Alaves on October 30.

After consultation with specialists, Aguero – who is City's leading scorer in Premier League history – accepted he would not be able to play again as the risk to his health would be too great.

But despite his sudden retirement, the 33-year-old insisted he would look back on his "amazing career" fondly as he reflected on the lessons football has taught him.

"I've always known that I'd give it all to have a chance to play again," Aguero said in his statement published on Twitter. However, after the last exams, I was advised by my doctors to cease practising professional football.

"Their words were sufficient to make a choice. Retiring under these circumstances is difficult, but life comes first - I've known that from the start.

"One of the many things that football taught me is that you can turn defeat into victory. This won't be any different. It's surely painful but it's no tragedy.

"A tragedy would have been another thing altogether. My thoughts are not on the time I could have played on, they are on the wonderful 18 years I did get to play.

"This amazing career will remain with me, and so will carrying it out with passion and dedication year after year. I keep the affection and care I received from each of the teams I played for when I was just a kid.

"And then at Independiente, Atletico Madrid, Manchester City, Barcelona, and Argentina's national team, always so dear to me. My recognition goes to the fans, who stood by me through thick and thin - your support has made me stronger."

 

Aguero left City for pastures new at Barcelona on a free transfer in July, having scored 184 times in the Premier League at a rate of one every 108 minutes, the best frequency of any player to net at least 20 in the competition's history.

Indeed, the former Argentina international could play another 2,520 minutes of Premier League action (the equivalent of 28 full games) without scoring, and he would still boast the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any player to have scored 20 or more times.

Aguero is also the Premier League's highest-scoring overseas player and holds the record for the number of goals scored for one club, while his 12 hat-tricks are another benchmark in the competition.

But as his career comes to an end, the former Atletico Madrid man heaped praise on those he has worked with.

"I want to thank all the trainers, team-mates, colleagues, staff, physios and managers who allowed me to develop my career in the best of conditions," he continued.

"My special gratitude goes to my family and friends, who were always by my side. And to my agents, the same I've kept since I was 14 years of age, who accompanied me with utmost professionalism and honesty.

"Beyond the titles I've contributed to win - something I greatly value - my biggest achievement has been earning the respect of my colleagues, and the love from the world of football.

"That's something that won't change - I'll keep it in my heart and it will make me strong for what's to come.

"Life goes on, and there's plenty of it ahead. It will be a new stage, a different one indeed, but I'll keep on just like I've done so far: always positive, with enthusiasm and joy."

Antonio Conte expressed his disappointment with UEFA and the Premier League as Tottenham await the verdict on their postponed Rennes clash.

Tottenham were due to meet Rennes in the Europa Conference League last Thursday, but the clash was called off after eight Spurs players and five members of staff returned positive COVID-19 tests.

Conte's side have since had their top-flight meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion postponed after the outbreak, while UEFA is expected to make a decision by the end of the week on the outcome of the game against Rennes.

European football's governing body indicated a new date for the game could not be agreed upon by the two clubs, after COVID-19 cases in the Spurs camp caused a call-off of the fixture.

It remains to be seen what UEFA rules, with Tottenham having needed a win from the Rennes game to reach the knockout stage. Rennes sit top of Group G, after three wins and two draws from their five games. All other group-stage games have been completed.

Spurs lodged a request with the Premier League to postpone their clash with Leicester City on Thursday to allow the Rennes fixture to be fulfilled, but the idea was rebuffed – much to Conte's frustration.

"We want to play the [Rennes] game," Conte told reporters at a news conference. "Tottenham deserves to play the game, to play the last game of this group.

"It's a really strange situation because we didn't play through no fault of our own but because of a big problem and because the government decided to close our training ground, to stop our training session for three days.

"For this reason we didn't play, not for another reason. I think it's not our fault for what happened. We deserve to play this game and to try to have a chance to go to the next round."

Brendan Rodgers also confirmed Leicester, who have nine players absent through positive coronavirus tests and injuries combined, want Thursday's clash rearranged, but the Premier League have refused to do so.

Manchester United's trip to Brentford on Tuesday and Watford's game at Burnley have already both been postponed, though Conte and Rodgers seem set to be forced to meet at the King Power Stadium.

However, Conte explained how he remains bemused by the decision to punish Spurs for a problem that he does not think they caused.

"We don't find a good solution between UEFA and the Premier League, why does Tottenham has to pay for this?

"It's not fair we have to pay for a situation that isn't our fault. I understand if we did something wrong but in this way, for the club, the players, the staff, it's very difficult to understand what is happening."

Spurs head north three points ahead of Leicester, who have played two games more than Conte's side after their respective cancellations against Burnley and Brighton.

But Conte revealed the situation within his squad has not changed too much as players continue to attempt to regain fitness following the outbreak.

"Yes, the situation has not changed so much," he added. "The players are back in training and other players are continuing to be isolated, but also for the players back in training, they need time.

"They need a bit of time to be fit and find again a good physical condition. When you have COVID-19, it is not only 10 days.

"Many times the virus makes your body not so strong. For this reason, you have to go slowly, also because you risk having players injured after having it.

"I enjoyed the work we did with the players. It was good and I have seen a great availability, will and desire to improve.

"I have enjoyed this type of situation. It was a pity to have this problem, with nine players with COVID-19, because it has interrupted the work with the whole squad."

Watford's Premier League game at Burnley has been postponed following a COVID-19 outbreak within the Hornets' squad.

Claudio Ranieri's side were due to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Wednesday, but the meeting was postponed just hours before kick-off following the outbreak, which left Watford with an "insufficient number of first-team players available".

The Premier League board announced the postponement of the game with a statement, which explained the decision was made "following guidance from medical advisers".

"The Premier League understands this decision will disappoint and frustrate fans who were due to attend this evening’s game and apologises for the inconvenience and disruption caused at such short notice," the statement said.

"In considering any application to postpone, the board considers a range of sporting and medical factors. Each decision is taken on a case-by-case basis with everyone’s health of utmost importance."

The fixture between the two relegation-threatened sides becomes the third Premier League match to be called off, after Manchester United's trip to Brentford and Tottenham's meeting with Brighton and Hove Albion were both postponed.

On Monday, the Premier League announced it has reverted to "emergency measures" following a record number of players and staff testing positive for coronavirus in the past week.

The league recorded its highest figures for a seven-day period after 42 positive tests were returned, surpassing the 40 from January, with the results coming from a total of 3,805 tests carried out in the week of December 6-12.

"In light of the recent rise in COVID-19 cases across the country, the Premier League has reintroduced emergency measures," the statement continued.

"These include protocols such as more frequent testing, wearing face coverings while indoors, observing social distancing and limiting treatment time."

Leicester City's home clash with Tottenham on Thursday remains set to go ahead, despite Foxes' manager Brendan Rodgers revealing the hosts will be without nine players due to a combination of coronavirus cases and injuries.

Rodgers and Antonio Conte both explained their respective sides had requested the game be postponed, but the Premier League have not granted that request.

Jurgen Klopp believes more transparency over COVID-19 cases would be helpful as the Premier League heads into a hectic festive period.

Two games – Brighton and Hove Albion against Tottenham and Manchester United's trip to Brentford – have been postponed in the past week due to coronavirus outbreaks at Spurs and United.

Spurs had 13 members of their camp contract the virus last week, while United shut their Carrington training ground on Monday after a number of positive results.

On Monday, the league announced 42 positive test results from players and club officials had been returned, a record for a single week since testing began.

The league's 20 clubs have agreed to step up with extra measures in a bid to avoid further postponements, with daily testing introduced for all players and training ground staff.

Klopp is happy with the measures, but is confused as to why there cannot be more transparency when it comes to who has tested positive.

"In the Premier League, it would be helpful to understand exactly what it is. I don't understand why we are not more open," he said during a news conference on Wednesday.

"A lot of people catch COVID. If I catch it, hopefully not, I would be completely fine to say so. Why do we hide players, and nobody knows the number of players who have it. Come on, say, then everybody can understand why you are not able to play.

"I would prefer that but I'm not sure if that’s possible from a legal point of view, but it would be helpful. When we play Tottenham on Sunday, okay if they play tomorrow night we might have an idea but we have no idea currently of who can play or not.

"It's different to usual preparations for games. It's not the most important subject but it shows the information could be different, but I don't know if it's possible.

"We are all in the same situation as human beings, I don't know why we should hide it. A bit more transparency would be helpful."

Klopp, who revealed most of Liverpool's squad have already had a third booster vaccination dose, was also asked if the vaccination status of players may come into play when deciding whether to sign a player in the future.

"Who knows what situation we will be in when we start signing players again," he answered.

"The whole thing, the vaccination thing for me is a question of solidarity, loyalty and togetherness. We have the chance to help not only ourselves but others as well. There are not two possible answers, there is one answer, so you do it, that's how I understand it.

"It's not only the squad. Everybody who is working here at the training ground is at least double vaccinated and will get a booster as soon as possible. I really don't know, don't get me wrong, whatever I say now you could make the headlines of 'Klopp will only sign vaccinated players'.

"I didn't think about it. Not a second. If you sign a player you sign them for plenty of reasons. If that will be one of them, I don't know yet."

Reports on Wednesday also claimed the Africa Cup of Nations, planned to take place in Cameroon over January and February, may be postponed due to rising cases of the virus in parts of Europe and Africa, attributed to the Omicron variant.

Key players Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are due to appear in the tournament, but Klopp has received no word on whether it will go ahead.

"There's nothing to say, the authorities have to decide," he said.

"We don't know when exactly [the players might go]. There will be a moment when the national coaches announce their plans. We try to be in the conversations but the decisions will be made elsewhere."

Thomas Tuchel insists there is no reason for Chelsea to panic after seeing their place as Premier League leaders usurped by Manchester City.

The European champions looked imperious in the opening weeks of the season, winning all but two of their first 10 league games and conceding just once from open play.

However, a run of only three wins from their most recent six league matches, during which they have conceded eight times and kept only one clean sheet, has seen Chelsea fall from first to third in the standings.

Liverpool sit second, while City, who thrashed Leeds United 7-0 on Tuesday, are five points ahead of the Blues having played a game more.

Chelsea's defence has also been unusually sloppy recently, with Tuchel's team conceding eight goals in their last three games in all competitions, as many as they had in their previous 18 combined. 

Yet Tuchel says now is not the time to "give up" as his side look to follow up their 3-2 win over Leeds – delivered courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty from Jorginho – against struggling Everton.

"Not so long ago it was the opposite position and Man City turned things around," he said. "At the moment, they have good form, and they show it. They show their quality. There was never a doubt they have the quality because for years they've shown this consistency with Liverpool.

"We knew before that if we wanted to compete with City and Liverpool for the title, we would face adversity and tough moments. So we can't be surprised now, and we can't give up. We knew this before and enjoy being in the middle of difficult moments.

"Maybe it's what we need at the moment to overcome. We were lucky at the weekend but didn't feel blessed with luck against West Ham. We didn't have the luck against Burnley. So we should not start to say sorry for a late victory. We found a way to win the game."

N'Golo Kante will be fit enough to make the bench for Thursday's game at Stamford Bridge, as will Trevoh Chalobah, while Tuchel hopes Romelu Lukaku can manage over an hour against one of his former sides.

The Belgium striker, who was sidelined for around a month with an ankle injury, has not scored in the top flight since a double in the 3-0 win over Aston Villa on September 11.

"Fitness, we can debate endlessly," said Tuchel. "The player will say he is fit, but maybe the fitness coaches will agree and disagree. Then comes the head coach and maybe he disagrees.

"We let him play 70-something minutes against Zenit, and then we had travelling, a lack of sleep, and an intense opponent with Leeds. Because we decided not to put him in this turmoil, I think he can play 70 minutes, but we will see."

 Lukaku is Everton's highest ever goalscorer in the Premier League, having plundered 68 goals for the Toffees. However, he has netted just once in his five appearances against Everton in the competition, doing so with Manchester United in September 2017.

Chelsea are unbeaten in their last 26 Premier League home games against Everton (W15 D11) since a 1-0 loss in November 1994. If they avoid defeat, it would equal their longest ever unbeaten home run against an opponent in their league history (27 vs Tottenham between 1990 and 2016).

It is a debate almost as old as the competition itself – who is the best striker to grace the Premier League?

Let's be honest, there are many different ways of looking and none are absolutely nailed-on.

However, one area that many might point to is goals frequency.

It stands to reason. The aim of football is to put the ball in the net and the player who does it most regularly must be pretty good.

That's where Sergio Aguero comes in.

The Manchester City great announced on Wednesday that he has retired from the game due to health reasons, having had a heart issue detected over the past month and a half.

It has cut his career disappointingly short given, at 33, he seemingly still had plenty to offer – but it does provide the opportunity to look back on one of the best goalscorers of recent times.

While he enjoyed his breakthrough to a global audience with Atletico Madrid, he truly peaked at Manchester City and went on to become their record goalscorer with 260 strikes across all competitions.

Of those, 184 were scored in the Premier League, the most any player has ever scored for one club in the competition. He is undoubtedly a modern great.

But compared to the Premier League's other legendary strikers, is he the greatest?

Aguero's 184 goals in the Premier League came at a rate of one every 108 minutes, by far the best record of any player to net at least 20 times in the competition.

But what makes this even more impressive is the fact he could play another 2,520 minutes (or 28 full matches) and still boast the best minutes-per-goal ratio (20+ goals) in Premier League history.

So while Alan Shearer may hold the record for most goals, it would seem Aguero was even more lethal...

Jurgen Klopp said Sergio Aguero is one of the best players he ever managed against after the ex-Manchester City forward announced his retirement.

Aguero, who joined Barcelona from City earlier this year, confirmed his decision to retire on Wednesday at an event featuring president Joan Laporta and the Blaugrana's first-team players, while representatives of the 33-year-old's other clubs – including Pep Guardiola – also attended.

The Argentina international suffered chest pain in a LaLiga match against Deportivo Alaves on October 30, which Barca confirmed was down to a heart arrhythmia.

Further tests resulted in Aguero being ruled out for three months to undergo a "diagnostic and therapeutic process". After consultations with specialists, he was told it would be too great a risk to continue playing.

Aguero scored 260 goals in his 10 years at City, with 184 of these coming in the Premier League, making him the highest-scoring overseas player in the competition's history.

Having scored league goals at a rate of one every 108 minutes, the best frequency of any player to net at least 20 in the competition, Aguero could play another 2,520 minutes of Premier League action (the equivalent of 28 full games) without scoring and he would still have the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any player to have scored 20 times or more.

Aguero scored seven league goals against Liverpool, with his last such strike a thumping opener in a crucial 2-1 win in January 2019. City edged out the Reds by a single point in that season's title race.

Asked about Aguero's impact on the Premier League, Klopp – whose side face struggling Newcastle United on Thursday – told a news conference: "Massive, massive.

"I really feel for the boy. He obviously made a move to Barcelona not to retire but for another exciting move in his career, he was not able to contribute because of his issues and I really feel for him.

"He had a great career, there will be a moment where he will see that as well and see that 33 is an age where other players retire but for other reasons, but of course for him at the moment he is of course in shock, that's what you get when you have to announce something like this.

"The impact he had on the Premier League, on football, I think was incredible. The whole time at City, even before Pep arrived there, the goals he scored, the importance of the goals he scored.

"Since I'm here, when we played against City, even if he was not too busy scoring against us, he was massive. He scored a very important one I remember. I don't know him as a person but as a player I can say he's one of the best I ever faced."

Sergio Aguero is proud to look back on his career achievements after announcing his retirement at the age of 33.

The Barcelona forward confirmed his decision to retire on Wednesday at an event featuring president Joan Laporta and the Blaugrana's first-team players, while representatives of Aguero's other clubs – including Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola – also attended.

Aguero, who starred for Atletico Madrid before becoming a City great, suffered chest pain in the draw with Deportivo Alaves on October 30, which the club confirmed was down to a heart arrhythmia.

Further tests resulted in the Argentina forward being ruled out for three months to undergo a "diagnostic and therapeutic process". After consultations with specialists, Aguero was told it would be too great a risk to continue playing.

Aguero was in tears as he confirmed his retirement at Camp Nou but is happy with what he achieved throughout an astounding career.

"I was in good hands with the medical staff who did their best, who told me the best thing would be to stop playing," Aguero said.

"So, ten days ago I made that decision, but I want to tell everyone I did everything to have some hope, but there wasn't very much.

"I'm very proud of the career I've had, I'm very happy. I always dreamt of playing football since I was five, my dream was to play in the Primera [Argentina] – I never thought I'd get to Europe, so I want to thank everyone.

"Atletico took a bet on me when I was just 18, people at City – you know how I feel about City, I did everything to the best I could there, I'm very grateful because they looked after me very well, and everyone here at Barca. The team has been great to me, without doubt one of the best clubs in the world.

"I'm grateful because they treated me really well, and of course the Argentina national team, what I love the most. I'm grateful to everyone who's come today, my family, people who've worked with me, and to my team-mates – most recently of Barca – I think I always did my best to help them win.

"I also give my thanks to my team-mates who helped me to grow, and I'll leave now with my head held high, happy. I don't know what awaits me next, but I know there's lots of people who love me and want the best for me. I'm grateful to everyone who's here, all the clubs I played at, and I'll always remember the amazing things."

Aguero helped City win five Premier League titles during his time with the club – his last-gasp goal against QPR in 2012 securing one of the most memorable titles successes in the competition's history.

He left City having scored 184 times in the Premier League at a rate of one every 108 minutes, the best frequency of any player to net at least 20 in the competition's history. In fact, Aguero could play another 2,520 minutes of Premier League action (the equivalent of 28 full games) without scoring, and he would still have the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any player to have scored 20 or more.

The City player closest to that ratio (min. 20 goals) is Edin Dzeko, who scored a goal every 141.6 minutes for City in the English top flight. 

Aguero is also the Premier League's highest-scoring overseas player and holds the record for the number of goals scored for one club.

His only goal for Barcelona came in a 2-1 defeat to Real Madrid in October. A calf injury prevented him from playing more before his heart issue, though he helped Argentina win the Copa America in Brazil during the off-season.

Asked if he had processed the change in his life, Aguero replied: "I feel okay right now, obviously the first two weeks were really difficult. When they did the first physical test on me in the clinic, the medical staff called to say there was a big possibility I wouldn't be able to keep playing.

"I started to process then but it wasn't easy. I'm still processing everything – one of the doctors told me straight up, that's enough. When it was definitive, it took another few days to process. Right now, I'm okay but it was difficult."

Sergio Aguero has decided to retire.

The Barcelona forward announced his decision in a statement on Wednesday that was delivered at an event featuring president Joan Laporta and the club's first-team players.

Aguero, who starred for Atletico Madrid before becoming a Manchester City great, suffered chest pain in the draw with Deportivo Alaves on October 30, which the club confirmed was down to a heart arrhythmia.

After consultations with specialists, the Argentina international has been told it is too much of a risk to continue playing.

Barcelona were the last club Aguero played and scored for in a storied career, but it'll be his exploits for Manchester City that will be remembered most fondly in the football world.

He left the club earlier this year after a decade in Manchester that cemented his status as one of City's greatest ever players – he made an immediate impact upon joining from Atletico Madrid in 2011, plundering 23 top-flight goals in his first season, including the dramatic stoppage-time winner against QPR on the final day of the campaign to seal their first-ever Premier League title. 

Using Opta data, Stats Perform looks at the legacy of Aguero's exceptional career as a matchwinner and goalscorer. 

Aguero untouchable as City's leading marksman

No City player comes close to Aguero's simply outstanding scoring record.

He left City having scored 184 times in the Premier League at a rate of one every 108 minutes, the best frequency of any player to net at least 20 in the competition's history.

The City player closest to that ratio (min. 20 goals) is Edin Dzeko, who scored a goal every 141.6 minutes for City in the English top flight. 

City's second-highest scorer in the Premier League is Raheem Sterling, though he is 102 goals adrift of Aguero on 82.

Behind Sterling is Yaya Toure (62), followed by David Silva (60), Carlos Tevez (58) and Dzeko (50).

Even when you extend it to all competitions throughout City's history, no one gets within 80 goals of Aguero, with his 260 well clear of Eric Brook (177).

In esteemed Premier League company

Sadly, the final season of Aguero's Premier League stint was blighted by injuries, restricting him to just 12 appearances and four goals.

Nevertheless, he departed England as an all-time great such was his consistent excellence in front of goal.

Indeed, only three players have scored more than his 184 in the competition: Alan Shearer (260), Wayne Rooney (208) and Andrew Cole (187). 

All three, however, required significantly more minutes to score each goal, with Aguero's rate (one every 108 mins) comfortably better than Shearer's 146.86, Rooney's 182.78 and Cole's 169.14. 

Thierry Henry is the only player to have gotten close to a similar standard in the Premier League, with the Frenchman netting every 122 minutes on average – Mohamed Salah might fancy his chances of rivalling Aguero, however. His 111 goals have been scored at a rate of one every 127 minutes.

One-club man… sort of

Aguero's goal frequency was just one of several areas where he stands out in front, though.

Of course, he was never able to topple Alan Shearer's overall record for Premier League goals (260), but Aguero has scored more goals than anyone else for a single club.

His final goal for City, a header in a 5-0 demolition of Everton back in May, saw him overtake Wayne Rooney's haul of 183 for one club (Manchester United).

Remarkably, Aguero needed 118 fewer matches to reach the landmark than Rooney, which is saying something.

Harry Kane (167) may yet surpass Aguero – though if he ultimately ends up being the Argentinian's 'heir' at City, that record may stand for quite a while.

A box of hat-tricks

It's arguable the Premier League has never seen a more insatiable striker.

Some might be tempted to kick back once they have one or two goals – sure, a hat-trick would be nice, but their job is already done…

That certainly wasn't the case with Aguero, who was utterly relentless.

His 12 Premier League hat-tricks is a record and will likely remain the benchmark for years given only Shearer (11) has reached double figures for trebles in the competition.

It wasn't a case of Aguero filling his boots against the same lowly opposition all the time either. He only got more than one hat-trick against two teams (two each versus Newcastle United and Chelsea).

One of those hat-tricks against Newcastle came in a remarkable five-goal haul back in October 2015, helping City to a 6-1 victory. Granted, four players had managed such a feat before, though Aguero did his damage in just 66 minutes on the pitch – the previous quartet all played for 90 minutes.

Among Europe's elite finishers

Rightly or not, Aguero was probably too much of a pure finisher to ever really be considered in the same standing as players like Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, who generally scored and contributed more in general.

But there's little doubt the Independiente youth product was one of the finest forwards of his generation.

Since January 1, 2000, only five players – Cristiano Ronaldo (483), Lionel Messi (475), Zlatan Ibrahimovic (300), Robert Lewandowski (295) and Edinson Cavani (261) – have scored more goals in Europe's 'big five' leagues than Aguero (259) across his spells with Atleti, City and Barca.

His minutes-per-goal rate jumps slightly to one every 128 minutes when factoring in his time in LaLiga, which puts him 10th among players to have scored at least 150 goals in the major European leagues, but let's not forget that includes his days as a teenager as well as last season when he was having to battle fitness issues.

Sadly, we never got to see Aguero return to the heights he scaled during his peak at City, with injuries restricting him to only five appearances for Barcelona.

But given the circumstances surrounding his retirement, things could have been a lot worse. This farewell gives us the chance to happily reflect on what a privilege it was to watch Sergio 'Kun' Aguero.

Sergio Aguero confirmed his retirement on Wednesday to bring to an end a glittering career that shone most brightly during his time at Manchester City.

He spent a trophy-filled decade in Manchester, winning the Premier League title five times with a club that had never claimed the honour before his arrival.

And Aguero's goals, of which there were 260, played a huge part in that success.

On the day he revealed he had hung up his boots, Stats Perform takes a look back at 10 of the best goals Aguero scored for City.

Swansea City (H): August 15, 2011

A club-record signing following his reported £38million arrival from Atletico, Aguero announced himself with a stunning substitute cameo in City's opening game of the 2011-12 campaign. Having slid in at close range to double the advantage granted by Edin Dzeko's opener, he inventively set up David Silva's third before saving the best until last. Aguero collected Yaya Toure's flicked pass 30 yards from goal and arrowed a venomous, dipping long-range strike into the corner. It was love at first sight for the City faithful.

Norwich City (A): April 14, 2012

Carlos Tevez going AWOL for a significant chunk of Aguero's debut season in the Premier League meant a forward partnership that promised much was only viewed fleetingly. However, the dynamic Argentine duo belatedly linked up during the closing weeks of the campaign, never more effectively than in a 6-1 demolition of Norwich at Carrow Road. Tevez famously swung an imaginary golf club – in reference to his recently curtailed leisure time in Argentina – upon completing his hat-trick but the first of an Aguero double provided the game's outstanding moment. He latched on to a bouncing return backheel from Tevez, the pair's livewire movement having perplexed the Canaries defence, to thump into the top corner from the edge of the box.

QPR (H): May 13, 2012

An unforgettable moment replayed countless times, both era defining for the league and career defining for its central figure, it is easy to forget what a technically brilliant piece of centre-forward play Aguero's heroic intervention during the dying seconds of the season against QPR was. As the seeming formality of Premier League title glory slipped ever closer to the clutches of rivals Manchester United, the Argentine mimicked many of his country's great attackers by dropping into midfield. Taking possession from Nigel de Jong, an alert Aguero picked out Mario Balotelli with his back to goal. As with much before and after the eccentric Italian's time at the Etihad Stadium, what followed was not simple, but Balotelli managed to complete a return pass while on his backside. Aguero touched the ball into space beyond Taye Taiwo's lunging challenge, keeping his balance as the QPR defender clipped him. "I hit the ball as hard as I could and hoped for the best," Aguero recalled. Cue bedlam.

Liverpool (H): February 3, 2013

City's title defence the following season stuttered as their talisman grappled with fitness niggles but he was at his awe-inspiring best to snatch a draw against Liverpool. Five minutes after a trademark long-ranger from Steven Gerrard put the Reds 2-1 ahead, Aguero scampered after Gareth Barry's raking ball into the right channel and found visiting goalkeeper Pepe Reina hurtling off his line. The City man got there first and hooked home from an improbable angle out on the wing.

Manchester United (A): April 8, 2013

United were on the verge of regaining the title from their neighbours by the time City arrived at Old Trafford for the season's second derby, but Aguero served up a reminder of the misery his final-day exploits inflicted upon them 11 months earlier. There were parallels with that famous strike as he stole in front of Danny Welbeck to receive a pass from Toure and embarked upon a driving diagonal run towards the right-hand corner of the United six-yard box. Phil Jones launched a despairing lunge as his adversary superbly dug out a finish into the roof of the net.

Manchester United (H): September 22, 2013

Aguero set the tone for a rampant City derby display and a season of contrasting fortunes for the Manchester clubs, who were each under new management in the form of Manuel Pellegrini and David Moyes. Samir Nasri's backheel found Aleksandar Kolarov and the overlapping left-back fizzed over a fierce cross that Aguero contorted himself brilliantly to convert with a left-footed volley. He claimed a second in a 4-1 win and City would finish the campaign as champions, with United in seventh and Moyes out of a job.

Newcastle United (H): October 3, 2015

The Buenos Aires native's insatiable appetite for goals has never been more clinically demonstrated than when he put an overmatched Newcastle to the sword. City won 6-1 and Aguero scored five of them, all in the space of 20 minutes. Half-time did at least give Steve McClaren's men respite after their tormentor cancelled out Aleksandar Mitrovic's opener, but a brutal evisceration followed. Aguero's third was his best, when he applied a delicate dinked finish on the end of an irresistible passing triangle featuring Silva, Fernandinho and Kevin De Bruyne.

Leicester City (H): February 10, 2018

Already with the match ball in the bag, Aguero had one more thunderous trick up his sleeve in the 5-1 thrashing of Leicester in 2018. Phil Foden picked out City's penalty box animal outside his natural habitat 25 yards from goal. Nevertheless, there was only one thing on Aguero's mind as he touched the ball forward and larruped a strike past Kasper Schmeichel that crashed against the underside of the bar and bounced up into the roof of the net.

Arsenal (N): February 25, 2018

City made a nervous start at Wembley before Aguero tuned into the same wavelength as Claudio Bravo. The Chile keeper floated a goal-kick in the direction of his fellow South American, who nudged a dawdling Shkodran Mustafi, bore down on goal and lifted the bouncing ball delicately over the advancing David Ospina. The first trophy of the Pep Guardiola era was scarcely in doubt after that point.

Chelsea (H): February 10, 2019

Having earlier missed an open goal from three yards out to leave Guardiola in disbelief on the touchline, Aguero almost overcompensated with the stunning quality of his strike that set him on his way to claiming the match ball. City went on to win this game 6-0, but it was Aguero's 13th-minute thunderbolt that will live longest in the memory. He held off the attentions of two Blues defenders before rifling in a 25-yarder that left Kepa Arrizabalaga with no chance.

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