Julián Alvarez

Julián Alvarez (Spanish pronunciation: [xuˈljan ˈalβaɾes]; born 31 January 2000) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team.

Alvarez began his football career in his native Argentina, where he was an academy graduate of River Plate, making his first-team debut for the club in 2018. There, he spent four seasons and won the Copa Argentina, 2018 Copa Libertadores and the Argentine Primera División in 2021, finishing as the competition's top scorer. He was named the South American Footballer of the Year in 2021. He was signed by Manchester City in 2022, winning a treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and UEFA Champions League in his debut campaign, before leaving for Atlético Madrid in 2024 in a club-record departure deal worth up to €95 million.

Alvarez previously represented Argentina at various youth levels, competing at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup and 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. He made his senior international debut in 2021, and played for the squads that won the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the 2024 Copa América.

Alvarez's nickname is "La Araña" (the spider) or "El Hombre Araña" (Spider-Man), reflecting his web-shooter goal celebration.

Alvarez joined River Plate from Atlético Calchín in 2016, notably participating in the Generation Adidas Cup with the club's youth teams. Prior to signing for River, Alvarez had trials with Boca Juniors and Real Madrid; scoring twice in five games for the latter in a youth tournament. He was unable to join Real due to age restrictions. Alvarez was moved into River Plate's senior squad under manager Marcelo Gallardo during the 2018–19 season, with his professional debut arriving on 27 October 2018 during a Primera División fixture with Aldosivi; he was subbed on for Rodrigo Mora with 26 minutes remaining of a 1–0 victory.

Alvarez appeared late on during the second leg of the 2018 Copa Libertadores finals, with River beating rivals Boca Juniors. Alvarez scored the first goal of his senior career on 17 March 2019, netting in a 3–0 league win over Independiente. During the succeeding December, he scored in the 2019 Copa Argentina final against Central Córdoba as River won 3–0 to secure the trophy. In 2020, Alvarez netted five goals in six Copa Libertadores group stage encounters.

On 25 May 2022, Alvarez scored six goals for River Plate in an 8–1 win over Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores.

On 31 January 2022, his 22nd birthday, it was confirmed that Alvarez had signed for Premier League champions Manchester City on a five-and-a-half-year contract for a transfer fee in the region of £14 million, and an agreement that the player would remain at River Plate on loan until July.