Julian Alvarez: Champions League could decide striker’s future

What Atletico coach Simeone sold him was a football project with the striker at its centre. Alvarez wanted to feel wanted.

“He told me I could give the club something huge,” he recalls. “That I will have the opportunity and space to be the best version of myself.”

The Argentinians already at the club also helped; De Paul, Griezmann’s warmth, the Spanish language, a culture that feels much closer than Paris or Manchester.

In August 2024, Atletico Madrid confirmed the deal: 95 million euros (£81.5 million), a club record and six-year contract that City received. The club announced it with a Spider-Man video and Alvarez loved it.

Ask him about the price tag and he seems almost confused by the question.

“This is more of a topic talked about in the media,” he said. “In the locker room, I’m just one of the group. I like being treated that way.”

His father worked in a grain factory in Calchin. His mother was a teacher. He grew up knowing that you had to earn respect or recognition. He’s still the same person. He shows this on the field too; The World Cup winner who runs back to win the ball and presses from the front. Simeone rarely singles out individuals, but he makes exceptions with Alvarez.

He played 102 matches for the red-whites for two seasons and scored 47 goals; These numbers tell only part of the story.

His time at Atletico was not without disappointments. The numbers are modest in La Liga this season; Eight goals were scored in 29 matches and only one in 2026.

His goal against Oviedo at the end of February ended a run of 14 league matches goalless; His previous match was against Sevilla on November 1. However, it was a different story in the Champions League and he scored nine goals in 12 matches this season.