Manchester City's Sergio Aguero reveals childhood admiration for Manchester United striker Michael Owen

The Argentine says he watched the former Liverpool man when growing up with avid interest, while he also has a fan of his own in his father-in-law since moving to the Blues

24 Jan 2012 13:24:00

By Sam Bisby

More On :  Manchester City, Michael Owen, . ., Kun Agüero
FA Cup - Manchester City v Manchester United, Sergio Aguero
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Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has revealed  that one of his idols when growing up was Manchester United striker Michael Owen.

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The 23-year-old was in his youth career with Argentinean outfit Independiente when Owen was breaking through into the Liverpool and England senior sides in the later 1990s, and young Aguero was an avid admirer of the English talent.

Aguero insists he was not a fan of the Merseyside club, but instead watched Owen intently, even when the striker almost broke the hearts of everyone in his home country when the then 18-year-old scored a magnificent effort against Argentina in the 1998 World Cup.

"I’m not so much a fan of Liverpool, but one of the players who was my idol when I was a boy was Michael Owen," he told reporters.

"He was quite small and had an eye for goal, just like me. When Liverpool were winning trophies, I was looking out for them because Owen was doing well.

"It’s ever since he scored for England against Argentina in ‘98, although I wasn’t too happy at the time. I cursed him pretty badly for scoring that, but getting that goal didn’t stop me from admiring him."

The former Atletico Madrid man also revealed that his father-in-law and Argentina legend Diego Maradona is an armchair fan of City, after the 23-year-old left the Spanish capital for the North West of England.

"He follows me pretty closely," Aguero told reporters after Sunday’s victory against Tottenham. "He always wants to know how we are getting on, and we keep in regular contact through text messages.

"I’m sure, when I get home, there will be a text asking all about the Spurs game and saying congratulations."

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