Sergio Aguero and Chelsea have to clear more hurdles than the Grand National if they are to become an item

By Guillem Balague

Published 08:00 06/11/09

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Kun Aguero is one of seven siblings. Schooled on a football pitch, he made his debut in the Argentine top flight at 15 before being snapped up by Atletico at just 17.

His parents moved to Spain with him but their modest background left them ill prepared for their new found lifestyle and wealth; their spending sprees set alarm bells ringing at the club and they were advised to return home and leave their son behind to be cared for by relatives.

These were difficult days for the kid who once balled his eyes out on a live radio show when a call was put through to Mum and Dad back in Argentina.

He behaved like a teenage boy, wasting his hours playing video games and bingeing on Cola.

Over time, however, he has matured, settled and is fulfilling his promise. He looks after himself and is learning what football is all about on and off the pitch.

But he is also growing frustrated: like Fernando Torres before him, with an underachieving mess of a club that is a financial ruin yet persists on recklessness in the transfer market.

His father in law, Diego Maradona, is constantly reminding him that he should be at a bigger, better club: a club like Inter Milan he tells him.

Could he sign for Chelsea? If it were a purely financial decision, the owners of Atletico Madrid would sell Agüero tomorrow, but this is a complicated institution mired in disputes with a passionate support that believes the current owners committed a major fraud in acquiring the club and effectively stole it from them.

Atletico sits on a powder keg and the owners know that Agüero’s €60 million buy-out clause would delight the bank manager; it would also turn the fortnightly fan protests outside the ground into weekly riots if the player were sold halfway through the season.

Atletico would rather wait until the summer, but that will not be any use to Chelsea because of their transfer ban.

The London club enquired about Agüero last summer without ever making an offer - David Villa was the priority and Chelsea were even willing to let Lampard, Terry and Ancelotti try to convince him in person.

Now that Abramovich is convinced about Agüero’s quality and value, Chelsea’s transfer situation and Atletico’s timetable makes any potential deal extremely complicated.

Chelsea want Sergio Aguero? 10 things you need to know about Atletico Madrid's Argentine ace  

Guillem Balague's column appears in conjunction with www.icons.com

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