Julian Alvarez admitted he was 'angry' despite scoring for River Plate on Wednesday night as he was asked about Pep Guardiola's recent praise for him.
Alvarez completed a £14m transfer to City in January, and will remain on loan at River until July. After that, despite talk in Argentina that he could stay for longer, City and Guardiola have said they intend for Alvarez to be part of their pre-season squad.
Guardiola praised Alvarez this week, saying he has a sense for goal that is 'worth money' and revealed that scout reports City are receiving on the Argentine have been 'excellent' since River's season began next month. On Wednesday, Alvarez scored his fourth goal in five games as River progressed to the next round of the Copa Argentina.
ALSO READ: Guardiola gives verdict on Alvarez performances since Man City transfer
In a podcast appearance this week, Guardiola said of Alvarez: "If we hire him, it is to have him with us. We believe that he is a player for us. Julian smells a goal and goals are worth money. At City they saw him as an opportunity for the future, in the next pre-season he will be with us.
"I see him on TV but I want to see him on the grass with his team-mates, with what we want him to do. If we weren't convinced we wouldn't have bought him. We want it yes or yes.
"The reports we have are exceptional. How he moves in short spaces and how he defines is something very difficult to find."
In response, Alvarez said: "These compliments are always good. I try to do my best for the team. Today I had several but I couldn't convert, so I'll keep working so that I can play in the next games.
Watch Alvarez's latest goal for River Plate here:
"I have several years of career and I try to continue learning as much as I can to be a better player and a better person."
Alvarez scored River's second in a 5-0 win, reaching 40 goals for the club. But the youngster admitted he was 'angry' after the game as he felt he missed a number of chances.
He said: "I'm leaving a little angry! But hey, the important thing is that we won. We try to play it with the same seriousness as all the games because it's a direct elimination and Marcelo [Gallardo] makes us emphasise on playing it this way."
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