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Benitez: I was offered Sergio Aguero at Liverpool

By Tom Bogert

LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 02: Emre Can of Liverpool challenges Sergio Aguero of Manchester City during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on March 2, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - MARCH 02: Emre Can of Liverpool challenges Sergio Aguero of Manchester City during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester City at Anfield on March 2, 2016 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /
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Former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez revealed that he was offered Sergio Aguero in 2006, before he joined Atletico Madrid.

Imagine an attacking combination that included a young(er) Sergio Aguero plus Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard in their primes? Well, according to former Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez, currently at Newcastle, he had the opportunity to sign Aguero for Liverpool.

In 2006 when Aguero signed for Atletico Madird, he was first offered to Liverpool, though at a huge price for a player of his tender age. When Liverpool scoffed at a €23m deal, he signed for Atletico Madrid from Independiente. The following summer, Torres would make his transfer from Atleti to Liverpool.

Benitez revealed the news prior to his Newcastle playing Aguero’s Manchester City, via Manchester Evening News.

“I was Liverpool manager. They offered him to us as a young player for big, big money. He signed for Atletico Madrid,” said Benitez. “He was a player that we knew. We were following him. We knew he was a very good player.”

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There are stories like this all the time about how a player was the one that got away. Remember all those old links for Liverpool with Cristiano Ronaldo? More recently, Dele Alli?

Anyway back to Aguero. A fee as large as that, especially so in 2006 rather than the oil/oligarch/TV contract inflated market of 2016, and it’s no wonder why he wasn’t signed. Young players from outside of Europe fail all the time, signing Aguero for €23m ten years ago might have been much too risky.

Nowadays, it’s obvious that it would have been the correct move but hindsight is always 20/20.

Benitez who ended up speaking in the press conference about Aguero’s brilliance but then hoped he would save his goals for the Champions League rather than Newcastle. Aguero did score against Newcastle, his 100th Premier League goal.