The most memorable of those strikes was the dramatic, last-gasp title-clinching goal against QPR in the final game of the season in 2012 – a moment made all the sweeter for fans by the fact it denied rivals Manchester United the crown.

It is that goal, above all, that is likely to make the parting of the ways all the more difficult.

"That goal he scored in 2012, at 93.20 (on the clock), created a bond that was always going to be difficult for someone to break," Kevin Parker, general secretary of City's supporters club, told the PA news agency.

"That goal has tied him to the history of the club forever. That is something no City fan will ever forget.

"We knew this day would come, there was an inevitability about it, but the way it came out, just out of the blue, was still a big shock. My sons were devastated. I just didn't want to hear it."

Parker has no doubt just how highly Aguero ranks in the standing of the club's greatest players.

"We have had some fantastic strikers in the past but nobody will ever touch Sergio," he said.

"I don't think we can ever do justice to him. There are so many superlatives you could use."