Manchester City sign Julian Alvarez: All you need to know about the Argentine wonderkid
Manchester City sign 22-year-old forward Julian Alvarez from River Plate for 17 million euros.
FollowPremier League defending champions Manchester City have signed the signing of 22-year-old Argentine Julian Alvarez from River Plate. According to reports, the 17 million euros deal, which includes 1.5 million euros as add-ons and bonuses, has been signed for a term of five-and-a-half years.
Manchester City has been tracking Alvarez, who has five caps for Argentina, for some time, along with a host of other top clubs. The club have been in the hunt for a striker since the departure of their all-time leading goalscorer Sergio Aguero and missing out on the capture of Harry Kane from Tottenham. Despite being short on strikers, the Pep Guardiola side have built an 11-point lead in this year's Premier League, having played a game more than second-place Liverpool.
Alvarez will have big shoes to fill, who will join the Pep Guardiola side from the following season. The league leaders will hope the young sensation can recreate the magic of Sergio Aguero.
Director of Football Txiki Begiristain believes Manchester City has signed a player with significant potential, adding that Julian Alvarez can operate in several attacking roles. Begiristain also said that the club firmly believes the Argentina international is one of the best young attacking players in South America.
"I am so happy we have managed to bring him to Manchester City. I believe we can provide him with the right conditions to fulfill his potential and become a top player," Begiristain said.
Manchester City has seen off competition from some of Europe's biggest clubs, including Manchester United, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Inter Milan, and Bayern Munich, to sign the award-winning Alvarez.
At 11, Julian Alvarez starred on trial in Madrid and was almost destined for a path straight to the Spanish capital. In 2011, the Argentine scored two goals in five appearances to help La Liga giants Real Madrid to win a youth tournament. However, he was too young to make a permanent switch as Real Madrid's policy is to wait until a player is 13 before signing a foreign talent. Alvarez also had trials with Boca Juniors before joining the club's rivals River Plate in 2016.
Two years later, the wonderkid made his senior River Plate debut in October 2018, and bagged a reputation as one of the best young forwards in Argentina. So far, Alvarez has netted 36 goals and 25 assists in 96 appearances for River Plate. This includes a striker in the club's 4-0 win over Racing in November, which sealed the Argentine league title.
In June last year, Julian Alvarez made his senior international debut in a World Cup qualifier against Chile. He replaced Angel Di Maria with an hour gone and was part of the Copa America squad in July. The Argentine forward was the Primera Division's top scorer in 2021 with 20 goals in 35 games while also being named the South American Footballer of the Year.
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