Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero on Sunday said that he is thrilled to become the Premier League’s all-time leading overseas goalscorer.
The Argentine also thanked his manager Pep Guardiola for believing in him and giving him the chance to score goals. The 31-year-old added that he is eager to add to his goal tally this season.
Aguero’s hat-trick helped City maul Aston Villa 6-1 on Sunday afternoon, and took his overall league goals tally to 177, breaking the record held by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who scored 175 times.
The hat-trick was Aguero’s 12th in his Premier League career, taking that record outright having previously shared it with Alan Shearer, who remains the competition’s most prolific player with 260 goals.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Aguero said: “I’m very happy because it’s not easy to score 12 hat-tricks in the Premier League.
“But I thank my team-mates because they helped me this year. I’m so happy.”
“I want to keep scoring more goals, but it all depends on my team-mates. If they pass to me, then it’s fine.”
The Argentine, who joined City from Atletico Madrid in 2011 and under contract at City until June 2021, is now joint fourth after moving above former Arsenal star Henry and joining Frank Lampard on 177 strikes. Only Shearer (260), Wayne Rooney (208) and Andrew Cole (187) now lie above the 31-year-old.
Also speaking to Sky Sports after the match, Guardiola said: “Aguero is a legend and legends rise tonight.
“Thierry Henry is one of the most incredible players to play in this league and he will be proud that Sergio is the guy who breaks his record. He was a legend and Sergio is the same.
“To score this amount of goals means you have done for many years a lot of good things. He’s been consistent for many years and so we are proud of him.
“He is the most incredible person. You cannot achieve this without being a guy who loves to play football.”
