I remember being thrilled when we signed Sergio. A year or so before we bought him, I'd seen him play for Argentina against Russia in a friendly in Moscow, and he capped a superb performance with a brilliant goal.
And he more than lived up to the hopes I had for him. It was an absolute privilege to have him here for a decade. Originally, there were reports that Real wanted to sign him but Atletico wouldn't sell direct to their rivals. I therefore feared we might get only a couple of seasons out of him and resolved to enjoy his stay at our club while it lasted, but the fact he stayed for as long as he did suggests that he grew to love us as much as we loved him.
He's definitely worthy of being considered up there among the all-time great strikers to have played in our league. I'd say I've seen forwards who've had better all-round skillsets than he had, but as a goalscorer his stats are phenomenal. Can't remember where I found it now, but I remember seeing a list minutes played for each goal scored in the PL era, and Sergio was comfortably on top. As a pure goalscorer, he's as good as anyone I've seen since I started watching English football in the mid-seventies, and while I never saw greats of the past such as Jimmy Greaves and Dixie Dean, his stats indicate he was every bit as good in his era as they were in theirs.
It's been a great shame that his career stalled through injuries and Covid last season and has now come to a halt. I was willing him to do well wherever he went in Europe after us and then wind down back at home. It's sad he's been denied the chance. But he's played more than 500 league games, won tons of trophies, earned over 100 full international caps, and his medical condition has been diagnosed before it's done more serious damage. He can be proud.
I wish him a wonderful retirement and thank him for the memories. I hope he'll come back and see us for a testimonial, then from time to time after that.