Pep Guardiola’s Mistake? Alvarez Shines After Leaving City

Pep Guardiola’s transfer decisions at Manchester City often come under scrutiny with Cole Palmer’s move to Chelsea being a prominent example. However, a more recent departure that has haunted City is Julian Alvarez’s summer transfer to Atletico Madrid for around £81 million. While Guardiola acknowledged that losing Alvarez could be a problem if injuries struck, he could not have anticipated the immediate impact the Argentine forward would have in Spain.

Alvarez, the 24-year-old World Cup winner has been on fire at Atletico, scoring 12 goals and providing two assists in 24 appearances. His contributions helped Atletico Madrid to third place in La Liga just three points behind leaders Barcelona. In the Champions League, Alvarez has been instrumental, scoring four goals and assisting three in just 12 starts. His impressive performances have added to Atletico’s 10-match winning streak.

In contrast, Manchester City has struggled since Alvarez’s departure. Despite Erling Haaland’s 18 goals this season, City has won only once in their last 10 matches and key players like Phil Foden and Kevin de Bruyne have battled injuries and poor form. Alvarez’s departure highlights City’s lack of depth as their next top scorer has only three goals, with several players on the same tally.

Alvarez had been a key figure at City since joining in 2022 from River Plate, contributing 36 goals and 18 assists in 103 appearances. However, despite his success, he played second fiddle to Haaland. Pep Guardiola revealed that Alvarez requested a transfer to seek a new challenge. Though Guardiola wanted to keep him, Alvarez’s desire for more playing time led to his exit which may now be seen as a missed opportunity for City.