In the summer of 2011, Sergio Kun Agüero completed what was then the biggest sale in Atlético de Madrid’s history when he agreed to sign for Manchester City, a team he would help win their first-ever Premier League title just months later with a dramatic stoppage-time goal against Queens Park Rangers on the final matchday. That transfer deeply hurt the Atlético de Madrid fanbase. But it would not have compared to the backlash had he ended up signing for Real Madrid.

Why didn’t Agüero sign for Real Madrid?

Since his arrival at the now-defunct Vicente Calderón ahead of the 2006/2007 season from Independiente, Kun Agüero quickly justified the nearly 25 million euros that Atlético de Madrid paid for his signing. So much so that, for many summers, rumors circulated that Real Madrid might break their "gentlemen's agreement" to sign the Argentine striker for the Santiago Bernabéu.

In an interview with ‘MARCA’, Agüero himself broke down the situation that prevented his move to Real Madrid, denying that talks ever took place among the three parties involved. “People always said I was going to sign for Real Madrid. But it was more political, between the clubs, than something real,” said Kun Agüero when asked if he would have liked to sign for Real Madrid.

Why Agüero signed for Manchester City

At the time, countless articles explored the possibility—one that was genuinely on the table for Real Madrid. However, Atlético de Madrid knew they couldn't let their star player join their biggest rival, so they accepted the strong offer from Manchester City worth 40 million euros.

That Manchester City side wasn’t yet the powerhouse we know today. Still, they won the race over a historic club like Juventus for one key reason. “Before Manchester City, I had everything in place with Juventus. But then Miguel Ángel Gil was told that Real Madrid wanted me, and that’s where the whole City story began. I was really excited about playing in the Premier League. City were in the next Champions League, and Juventus hadn’t qualified. It turned out to be a great decision,” said Kun Agüero, who remains Manchester City’s all-time leading goal scorer.