Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are ahead of Sergio Aguero

Sergio Aguero

It is surely time Sergio Agüero is recognised for what he has become – simply put: the third best player in the world.

It may seem somewhat of a bold claim to suggest that Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo are the only two players ahead of him but, on current form, the Manchester City man cannot be overlooked any more. Twelve goals in just eleven Premier League starts so far this season has seemingly gone under the radar of many expert pundits, as they instead choose to criticise the underperforming Yaya Toure.

Agüero himself played a hand in assisting two of the goals in last weekend’s 3-0 drubbing of Southampton and whilst he will no doubt be angered at his failure to find himself on the scoresheet, the assists do add to what has since become a run of 8 goals in his last 5 outings in City colours.

There is little doubt that Messi and Ronaldo are clear in front in terms of the top two and there are other candidates who could claim they are third-best – namely Bayern Munich duo Manuel Neuer and Arjen Robben, or Barcelona striker Luis Suarez – but Agüero has continued to perform so consistently and brilliantly for City that he has now edged ahead.

The Argentine has often been overshadowed by Messi on the international stage but right now, in the Premier League, only Diego Costa can argue to be on a par with him. The former Atletico Madrid forward was the man who scored the crucial goal to secure City’s first title for 44 years in 2012 so he will always be regarded as a legend at the Etihad but it’s surely the time for the rest of the world to truly appreciate his talent after 17 goals in 18 appearances in all competitions so far this season.

Agüero is almost the perfect stereotypical South American striker. The former Atletico Madrid youngster has a low centre of gravity, is diminutive with incredibly quick feet and can score all different types of goals. You would back the 26-year-old in a one-on-one situation every time, while he can strike from distance, grab those all-important tap-ins and also has plenty of brilliant individual goals to his personal collection.

His importance to City should not be underestimated. Agüero was responsible for earning them a 2-2 draw at QPR with a brace while he almost single-handedly saw off Bayern Munich in the Champions League to keep their qualification hopes alive with a hat-trick against the German giants. That outing alone shows you that City have a player who is not only a match winner, but one that can step up even in the most demanding of circumstances. Certainly, without him they would be further down the football betting odds in both the Premier League and in Europe.

The one concern City must have over Agüero, though, is his injury record. He has had to carry plenty of niggles during his time in the Premier League and he was even battling injury as the 2014/15 campaign begun, while a new hamstring strain never seems too far away. Of course, Manuel Pellegrini has other options, and Edin Dzeko and Stevan Jovetic are forwards of high calibre, but they can’t match the record or impact of Agüero. Even when he is not putting the ball in the back of the net himself, he is regularly setting others up.

There was a spell when Agüero was often being linked with a return to Spain and Real Madrid will always hold an interest in the world’s most talented players – something the City star most definitely is – but, thankfully for the Premier League champions, that speculation has now died down and he appears fully committed to Pellegrini’s side.

Unfortunately for Agüero he may never quite be considered the best player in the world with Messi and Ronaldo about, but being third on the list is not a bad position to be in.