Gabriel Jesus has described his battle with Sergio Aguero for a place in Manchester City’s starting line-up as “thankless”.
He went on to describe the Argentinian as the best player in the English Premier League club’s history.
In spite of having scored 63 goals in 138 matches for Manchester City, the 23-year-old Brazilian has struggled to secure a regular berth in Pep Guardiola’s preferred 11.
The starting line-up has mostly featured Mr Aguero in the No. 9 role.
“He is the biggest idol that has ever played for the club,” Jesus said in an Instagram Live session on Thursday.
“I know I’m not going to be a guaranteed starter. But I believe I’m improving and I’ll continue to improve. I think my greatest quality is my mindset.”
Mr Aguero has scored 254 times in 368 matches for Manchester City, including the stoppage-time goal against Queens Park Rangers in 2012 that clinched their first top flight title in 44 years.
In a wide-ranging conversation with fans, Jesus denied feeling burdened by pressure to perform for Brazil’s national team.
The five-time world champions have not had a prolific central striker since dual World Cup winner Ronaldo ended his international career more than a decade ago.
Jesus, who has scored 18 goals in 39 matches for the Selecao, says the former FC Barcelona, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Milan forward was on a different level.
“We’ve had a lot of good strikers but there is no way to compare anyone with Ronaldo,” he said.
“He was the best player I’ve ever seen and I really believe that there won’t be anyone like him again,” the former Palmeiras player added.
Xinhua/NAN
