Julián Álvarez (; born 31 January 2000) is an Argentine professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a forward for

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club Manchester City and the Argentina national team. Álvarez began his football career in his native Argentina, where he is 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 The Copa Argentina (English: ''Argentine Cup''), officially known as the "Copa Argentina AXION energy" due to sponsorship reasons, is an official football cup competition organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA), with the aim of qual ...

2018 Copa Libertadores The 2018 Copa CONMEBOL Libertadores was the 59th edition of the CONMEBOL Libertadores (also referred to as the ''Copa Libertadores''), South America's premier club football tournament organized by CONMEBOL. River Plate defeated Boca Juniors in ...

and the Argentine Primera División in 2021, finishing as the competition's top scorer. He was named the

South American Footballer of the Year The Rey del Fútbol de América ("King of Football of America"), often referred to as the South American Footballer of the Year, is an annual association football award presented to the best footballer in South America over the previous calendar ...

in 2021. In January 2022, he signed for Manchester City and began playing for the club in the 2022–23 season, where he won a

continental treble A treble in association football is achieved when a club team wins three trophies in a single season. A ''continental treble'' involves winning the club's national league competition, main national cup competition, and main continental trophy. A ...

in his debut campaign. Álvarez also previously represented Argentina at various youth levels and competed at the

2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup The 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup was the 22nd edition of the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the biennial international men's youth football championship contested by the under-20 national teams of the member associations of FIFA, since its inception in 1977 ...

and 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament. He made his senior international debut in 2021, and played for the senior squads that won the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, and the 2022 FIFA World Cup; the latter title made Álvarez the first ever player to win the World Cup and a continental treble in the same season.

Club career

River Plate

Álvarez joined River Plate from Atlético Calchín in 2016, notably participating in the

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with the club's youth teams. Prior to signing for River, Álvarez 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. Álvarez 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 Rodrigo Nicanor Mora Núñez (born 29 October 1987) is a former Uruguayan professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Born in Rivera, Mora started his professional career with modest Juventud de Las Piedras. In 2008, aged 20, ...

with 26 minutes remaining of a 1–0 victory. Álvarez appeared late on during the second leg of the

2018 Copa Libertadores finals The 2018 Copa Libertadores Finals was the two-legged final to decide the winners of the 2018 Copa Libertadores, the 59th edition of the Copa Libertadores, South America's premier international club football tournament organised by CONMEBOL. The ...

, with River beating rivals Boca Juniors. Álvarez 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 The 2019 Copa Argentina Final was the 109th and final match of the 2018–19 Copa Argentina. It was played on December 13, 2019 at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza between Central Córdoba (SdE) and River Plate. River Plate defeated ...

against Central Córdoba as River won 3–0 to secure the trophy. In 2020, Álvarez netted five goals in six Copa Libertadores group stage encounters. On 25 May 2022, Álvarez scored six goals for River Plate in an 8–1 win over Alianza Lima in the Copa Libertadores.

Manchester City

On 31 January 2022, his 22nd birthday, it was confirmed that Álvarez had signed for

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 with the player would remain at River Plate on loan until July.

2022–23: Debut season and continental treble

Álvarez made his competitive debut on 30 July, where City lost 3–1 to

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in the

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, scoring his team's only goal in the process. On 7 August, Álvarez made his Premier League debut after coming on as a substitute for

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in a 2–0 away win over

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is an English professional football club that plays its home matches in Stratford, East London. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The club plays at the London Stadium, hav ...

. On 31 August, Álvarez scored his first two Premier League goals in a 6–0 win against

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at the City of Manchester Stadium. On 5 October, he scored his first

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

goal in a 5–0 win over

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. On 17 May 2023, he scored the last goal in a 4–0 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League semi-final second leg, which cemented his club's qualification to the final. Four days later, he scored the only goal in a 1–0 victory over

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to win his first Premier League title, and third in a row for his club. On 10 June, he won the

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with his club, despite being a non-playing substitute, to become among the players who won the FIFA World Cup and Champions League in the same season, in addition to achieving both the latter and the Copa Libertadores. With this, he also became the first ever player in football history to win the World Cup and a continental treble in the same season.

2023–24: Starting eleven breakthrough

On 19 August, Álvarez netted the lone goal in a 1–0 victory over Newcastle United. Following the injuries of

Bernardo Silva Bernardo Mota Veiga de Carvalho e Silva (; born 10 August 1994), known as Bernardo Silva or simply Bernardo, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder, forward or a winger for club Manchester City and the ...

and

Kevin De Bruyne Kevin De Bruyne (born 28 June 1991) is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Manchester City and the Belgium national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. Pundits have often des ...

, Álvarez began featuring more regularly in the starting eleven, registering four goals contributions in his next Premier League matches, including two assists in a 3–1 away win over West Ham United on 16 September. Three days later, he scored a brace in City's 3–1 home win over

Red Star Belgrade Fudbalski klub Crvena zvezda ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Црвена звезда, lit=Red Star Football Club, ), commonly known as Red Star Belgrade in English-language media, is a Serbian professional football club based in Bel ...

in the UEFA Champions League. Álvarez finished in 7th place in the 2023 Ballon d'Or. On 22 December, Manchester City defeated

Fluminense Fluminense Football Club (), known as Fluminense, is a Brazilian sports club best known for its professional football team that competes in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, the first tier of Brazilian football and the Campeonato Carioca, th ...

4–0 in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final as Álvarez scored a brace and provided an assist to claim his first

Club World Cup The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 200 ...

title and finish the tournament as top scorer; with his first goal being the fastest in the competition's history at 40 seconds.

International career

2018–2020: Youth career

In 2018, Álvarez was selected by the Argentina U-20s to train against the senior team at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. In December, Álvarez was picked for the 2019 South American U-20 Championship. In preparation for the

, he scored the second goal against

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in what was a 5–0 victory, during a friendly tournament played in Spain. After that, he received a call-up from Fernando Batista for the

in May 2019. Four matches and one goal, versus

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, arrived for him in Poland. Batista subsequently called Álvarez up for the Olympic Team in the succeeding September, which preceded his selection for the 2020 CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament; which Argentina won, with Álvarez scoring once (versus

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) in seven matches.

2021–present: Senior debut and Copa América and World Cup triumphs

Álvarez made his debut for the Argentina senior team on 3 June 2021, in a World Cup qualifier against

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

as a 62nd minute substitute for

Ángel Di María Ángel Fabián Di María (born 14 February 1988) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays for club Juventus and the Argentina national team. He can play as either a winger or attacking midfielder. Di María began his career with R ...

. On 29 March 2022, he scored his first international goal in a 1–1 draw against

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. On 11 November 2022, Álvarez was included in Lionel Scaloni's 26-man squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. On 30 November, he scored his first World Cup goal in a 2–0 win in the last group stage match against

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. Álvarez followed with a second World Cup goal on 3 December, when he scored in Argentina's 2–1 win against Australia. He continued his scoring streak by adding two more goals in Argentina's 3–0 win against

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in the semi-finals, becoming the youngest player since Pelé in

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to score two goals in a World Cup semi-final at 22 years, 316 days old. On 18 December, he was involved in Argentina's second goal as his team defeated

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4–2 on penalties after the match ended 3–3 in extra-time of the final to win the World Cup.

Style of play

Julian Álvarez is a versatile forward who can play anywhere on the frontline. He is direct, quick, and has graceful control with his right foot, often converting awkward chances. Álvarez is also a good link-up player, with the technique and vision to play quick passes and one-touch football. Playing against rough South American tacklers, his dribbling and ability to manoeuvre in tight spaces are sublime. Álvarez is also a very hardworking player, running around off the ball and capable of leading a strong press. Álvarez's first touch is incredibly composed and always intentional, with him capable of both killing a ball dead or nudging it away from a defender and into his own path. While not a particularly skilful dribbler, Álvarez is a powerful runner. His slightly hunched running style allows him to barrel through challenges and protect the ball effectively, and there’s a tenacity and doggedness to his carrying that makes him difficult to stop. Álvarez is used to playing in a two-striker system in a team with an extremely settled style of play. In the 2023–24 season, Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has often used Álvarez as an attacking midfielder in the absence of Kevin De Bruyne. Álvarez's intelligent running, passing and possession has led to him thriving in this position, and he has often been lauded by pundits for successfully adapting to the requirements of the new position.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Argentina's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Álvarez goal''

Honours

River Plate * Argentine Primera División:

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: 2018–19 *

Supercopa Argentina The Supercopa Argentina (English: Argentine Super Cup) is an official National association football cup of Argentina organized by the Argentine Football Association (AFA). The annual football match was played for the first time in 2012, being cont ...

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* Trofeo de Campeones:

* Copa Libertadores:

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* Recopa Sudamericana:

Manchester City *

: 2022–23 *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

: 2022–23 *

UEFA Super Cup The UEFA Super Cup is an annual super cup football match organised by UEFA and contested by the winners of the two main European club competitions; the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. The competition's official name was original ...

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* FIFA Club World Cup:

Argentina U23 *

CONMEBOL Pre-Olympic Tournament The CONMEBOL Preolímpico ( en, Pre-Olympic Tournament) is an international association football event in the South America region organized by CONMEBOL. It is the qualification tournament for the football tournament at the Olympic Games. In ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Argentina *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

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* Copa América:

* CONMEBOL–UEFA Cup of Champions:

Individual *

South American Youth Championship The South American Youth Football Championship, also known as U-20 South American Championship and es, Torneo Juventudes de América, "Campeonato Sudamericano Sub 20" or pt, Juventude da América (English: "America's Youth") is a South American f ...

Team of the Tournament:

* Argentine Primera División top scorer:

: 2021

References

External links

Profile
at the Manchester City F.C. website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alvarez, Julian 2000 births Living people Footballers from Córdoba Province, Argentina Argentine men's footballers Men's association football forwards Club Atlético River Plate footballers Manchester City F.C. players Argentine Primera División players Premier League players Copa Libertadores-winning players UEFA Champions League winning players Argentina men's youth international footballers Argentina men's under-20 international footballers Argentina men's international footballers 2021 Copa América players 2022 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players Copa América-winning players South American Footballer of the Year winners