Manchester City have completed the signing of South American Footballer of the Year Julian Alvarez for a fee of around £14million.
The Blues have taken a low-key approach to the announcement this afternoon, as Alvarez will stay with River Plate in Argentina until at least July.
But it seems that the £17.9million figure for Alvarez being quoted in Argentina has confused pounds with euros — and that the actual fee City have paid for the player is about £14.1million.
If River are still in the Copa Libertadores — the South American equivalent of the Champions League — by then, he could stay until December, and would not be eligible for City until January.
City are happy for Alvarez, who burst onto the scene as top scorer as his club won the Argentinian title last season, and is currently with the national squad for tomorrow’s World Cup qualifier against Colombia, to continue his development with River.
Reports in Argentina suggest City have a clause by which they could insist on Alvarez reporting to them in summer on payment of an extra £1.9million, but with the Blues expected to sign a front-line striker in the summer, they are relaxed about Alvarez’s eventual arrival and at the moment would be happy for him to stay in Argentina for another year.
Alvarez has joined on a five-year deal, and City will top up the wages.
Alvarez, nicknamed the Spider, has been a major hit in South America ever since he appeared as an 18-year-old substitute in the 2018 Cop Libertadores final.
Able to play in any of the front three positions for City, Alvarez is celebrating his 22nd birthday today.
He scored 22 goals in 45 games for River last year, including 20 in 35 on the league as River stormed to the title, and he an impressive 34 goals in 95 games in total for the Argentine giants.
