Sergio Aguero names ‘top 3 strikers in football history’, picks former Barcelona players

Sergio Aguero is widely recognized as one of the finest strikers of the Premier League era, racking up 184 goals in 275 appearances for Manchester City. His career came to a premature end with FC Barcelona, after he was diagnosed with cardiac arrhythmia, forcing him to call an early retirement.

However, he is still deeply involved with football, and was present at the 2022 World Cup finals as his Argentina won the trophy, and at the Champions League final as Manchester City lifted their first European trophy.

Aguero is also a creator on video streaming platform Twitch, one of the most popular users in the Spanish language, with nearly 5 million followers. While streaming a Q&A session, he was asked to name who he thinks of as the three best strikers in football history.

Promptly, the Argentinian striker answered with three players who have also plied their trade for Barcelona. “Top 3 strikers in history? Ronaldo Nazario, Thierry Henry and Luis Suarez. In that order.”

Aguero’s respect for those three players is clear, as they are some of the most prolific players in the history of the sport. Aguero joined Barcelona after Luis Suarez left the club in 2020 for Atletico Madrid, and the Uruguayan striker has enjoyed great success at both club and country level. He scored 198 goals in 283 matches for Barca, a potent tip of the attack with Lionel Messi and Neymar Junior, and established himself as one of the greatest strikers in world football. He also enjoyed what many consider to be the greatest individual Premier League season of all time with Liverpool, with 31 goals and 17 assists in 33 matches.

While Suarez had the highest peak of a Premier League season, Thierry Henry is considered to be the highest level of player the English league has ever seen. The Frenchman scored 175 Premier League goals for Arsenal, with the best goals-per-game ratio of any player with 100 PL goals. He also won 2 PL trophies, and would go on to win 2 more with Barcelona, alongside CL success in 2009, and a World Cup win in 1998 with France.

However, there is a reason why Ronaldo Nazario heads Aguero’s list. Nicknamed ‘El Phenomeno’, the Brazilian great had a career shortened and quelled by injuries, but when fit, was a player no defender could cope with, with incredible pace and an unrivalled nose for goal. He joined Barcelona as a 19-year-old in 1996 and would play only one season, but scored 34 goals in 37 matches. His young career would be a struggle with injuries, but his performance in the knockout stages of the 2002 World Cup as Brazil claimed their fifth championship are fondly remembered for being a throwback to him at his best.