Rio Ferdinand picks the greatest South American player to have ever played in the Premier League

Rio Ferdinand believes Aguero is the greatest South American to play in the Premier League

Manchester United icon Rio Ferdinand has picked Sergio Aguero as the greatest South American to have ever played in the Premier League.

The former England international was promoting the latest edition of his FIVE podcast which debated the top five greatest South Americans to have played in the Premier League.

Rio Ferdinand quoted the episode and tagged Sergio Aguero, tweeting:

"No1 surely got to be @aguerosergiokun."

Sergio Aguero emerged as a highly-rated teenager and won the Golden Boy award in 2007 for his exploits at Atletico Madrid and the Argentine youth team.

Who’s ya top 5 South American Premier League players of all time…?

No1 surely got to be @aguerosergiokun twitter.com/fiveuk/status/…

He had a remarkable record of 101 goals and 45 assists from 234 matches in all competitions for Los Rojiblancos before joining Manchester City in the summer of 2011.

He wrote his name into the Premier League record books less than a year later when he scored the dramatic winning title-winning goal with the final kick of the 2011-12 campaign.

Sergio Aguero played a starring role in guiding Manchester City to domestic dominance over the next decade and was arguably the standout striker in the Premier League.

He departed the club in 2021 as the club's all-time record goalscorer, having scored 260 goals and provided 73 assists in 389 matches in all competitions.

He won 12 major honors in his time at the Etihad Stadium and is widely regarded as the greatest player in Manchester City's history.

His record of 184 Premier League goals places him fourth on the all-time scorers list in the English top-flight and he won five league crowns with City.

Unfortunately, Aguero ended his career prematurely due to a heart condition shortly after joining Barcelona in 2021.

Sergio Aguero played his role in continuing the South American legacy of greatness in the Premier League

Sergio Aguero was immensely successful with Manchester City

South America is home to some of the most traditional footballing nations, including Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay.

The three countries are responsible for producing some of the most iconic players to ever grace a football field, with Pele, Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi considered among the greatest of all time.

The Premier League has been graced by fine South American imports who have distinguished themselves in the English top-flight.

Luis Suarez, Fernandinho, Carlos Tevez, Alisson, Ederson, Gilberto Silva, Alexis Sanchez and Anthony Valencia all made their mark in the Premier League.