Micah Richards has lavished praise on Sergio Aguero but admitted he didn't think his former teammate was that good when they first trained together at Manchester City.
Aguero scored a hat-trick against Aston Villa to overtake Thierry Henry as the highest ever overseas Premier League goalscorer, finding the net on 177 occasions.
He also overtook Alan Shearer to become the striker to score the most Premier League hat-tricks with 12.
Richards, who provided the assist for Aguero's very first Premier League goal in a 4-0 win over Swansea, said Aguero is up with Henry and Shearer as the top three strikers in the league's history.
'When I first trained with Aguero I didn't think he was that good,' Richards told BBC Radio 5 Live.
'He didn't train that well, he didn't work that hard and then when he played he scored. He was one of those players that didn't need to turn up in training because he was just so naturally gifted and come game time he was ready.
'To see him do so well has been an incredible achievement for him obviously but great for me to play with calibre of player. When I first started at Man City I didn't think I would be playing with the special sort of players.
'He deserves everything he gets not just because what he does on the pitch but off the pitch the most humble person you'll ever meet. For me he's one of the best ever players to grace the Premier League.'
Aguero has come a long way since joining Manchester City as a 23-year-old in July 2011 from Atletico Madrid for £36m.
His goals have been a huge reason for the club winning four Premier League titles over the last decade.
He also jumped Frank Lampard to 4th place in the Premier League's all time goal scoring list, with only Shearer, Wayne Rooney and Andrew Cole now ahead of him.