Atletico Madrid have bagged their biggest transfer so far this summer. After Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sörloth, Julian Alvarez also joins the Rojiblancos
With the signings of Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sörloth, Atletico Madrid had already found replacements for the departures of Stefan Savic (Trabzonspor) and Alvaro Morata (AC Milan). Now the Rojiblancos have made another notable addition: Julian Alvarez is moving from Manchester City to the Spanish capital, signing a contract until 2030.
The Spaniards are reportedly paying over 90 million euros for the services of the 24-year-old attacker. This makes Alvarez the second most expensive new Atletico signing in the club’s history – after Joao Felix, who joined from Benfica Lisbon for €126 million in 2019 – and the most expensive transfer so far this summer
Around €60 million plus for ManCity
The Citizens completed the transfer of the then River Plate goalscorer for around €20 million in January 2022 and then loaned him back to Argentina for six months before he joined Pep Guardiola’s team in 2022. He made 103 appearances in sky blue and scored 36 goals. “Everyone at Manchester City wishes Julian the very best for the next stage of his career – he has been a pleasure to work with,” said Man City’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain. “His attitude has been first class since he first walked through the door here. That’s why he’s improved so much. The trophies he’s already won speak for themselves – he’s a winner. I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops over the next few years. “
In the past two years, Alvarez has won a whopping eight titles: With ManCity, he won the Premier League twice and the Champions League, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Cup once each. He was also crowned world champion with Argentina in 2022 and celebrated his second Copa America with his home country this year. He was also called up to the Argentinian Olympic squad, although he failed to win a medal there.
Wish for more minutes in “important games “
Under Guardiola, Alvarez was the player who was on the pitch most often last season. The striker made 54 appearances and scored 19 goals. In terms of playing minutes, however, he was outdone by eight team-mates. Most recently, the Argentinian called for more playing time in the decisive games, where he regularly only came off the bench behind Erling Haaland. “At the end of the day, you don’t like being left out of important games. You want to make a contribution,” he explained.
He was obviously unable to fulfill this wish in Manchester and is now expected to help out in those “important games” under his compatriot Diego Simeone in Madrid – and at best add to his already large collection of titles.
