Coach Pep Guardiola spoke bitterly when Julian Alvarez officially said goodbye to Man City

"He wants to leave and Atletico Madrid is a top club, so it's okay. Good luck to Juli, we love him, we won everything together. I really wish him all the best," coach Pep Guardiola expressed when talking about the deal of striker Julian Alvarez who has reached an agreement to move to Atletico Madrid in La Liga (Spain).

This is a "huge" profit for Man City, when letting Julian Alvarez go to Atletico Madrid for a fee of up to 95 million euros, including 75 million euros in fixed fees and 20 million euros in other additional fees, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano, a transfer information expert.

While 2 seasons ago, Man City recruited this striker from River Plate Club (Argentina) for only about 15 million euros and also loaned him back to this team for nearly half a season, until early 2022 to use him in competition.

Julian Alvarez is currently completing the procedures to prepare for his debut with Atletico Madrid right after the holidays, having just finished playing in the Copa America and attending the Olympics. This 24-year-old striker will have a place in La Liga as an EU (European) player because he also has Italian nationality due to his origin, according to AS (Spain). This is the reason why Atletico Madrid spent a lot of money to have Julian Alvarez.

Meanwhile, after letting Julian Alvarez leave, Man City will lack support for number 1 striker Erling Haaland as they have for at least the past 2 seasons. Man City has only recruited 1 player in the summer transfer window, Savinho.

According to coach Pep Guardiola: "We are considering the possibility of recruiting a new player to replace Julian Alvarez. We are still discussing this internally. But it may happen or not, we will consider and consider what to do."

Man City still does not have a full squad, as key players in the Spain team that won EURO 2024 or the England team that reached the final such as Rodri, Phil Foden, Kyle Walker... are still allowed to rest.

They are expected to return early next week and practice in preparation for the 2024-2025 Premier League season starting on August 17, with Man City playing Chelsea at 10:30 p.m. on August 18.