A record agreement for Manchester City has been reached with Atlético Madrid for striker Julián Álvarez, valued up to €95m (£81.5m). As the Spanish side negotiates with the Argentinian, the Premier League champions will earn €75m, which could climb according to stipulations.
The World Cup champion had wanted to be a bigger player since, despite making 54 appearances and scoring 19 goals for City last season, he was Erling Haaland’s understudy and rarely started in his preferred No 9 role when the Norwegian was fit.
Atlético have agreed to a £33m agreement with Chelsea for midfielder Conor Gallagher, which might be a hectic few days. Álvarez joins Atlético as the second striker in this window, following the acquisition of Alexander Sørloth from Villarreal. They also signed Real Sociedad defender Robin Le Normand.
City are expected to profit from the signing of 24-year-old Álvarez, who came from River Plate in 2022 for £14m. Since then, he has won the Premier League, Champions League, Copa América, and World Cup.
City’s previous record sale was Ferran Torres’ £55m move to Barcelona, and Pep Guardiola has declared they won’t sign until someone departs. According to the number of minutes Álvarez played last season, City may join the market. Their only senior addition this summer is forward Savinho from Troyes.
Álvarez is recuperating after a successful summer; he won the Copa América and helped Argentina reach the Olympics quarter-finals, losing to France.
City play Manchester United in the Community Shield on Saturday before starting the Premier League against Chelsea on Sunday.
