Julian Alvarez has opened up about his decision to leave Manchester City, revealing that his lack of involvement in the Champions League final played a key role in his choice to move on. Despite this, he holds no hard feelings towards manager Pep Guardiola. The 25-year-old Argentine striker has been in superb form since his £81.5million transfer to Atletico Madrid, thriving under the guidance of Diego Simeone. So far, Alvarez has scored 21 goals in 40 appearances this season, including an impressive six goals in eight Champions League matches. Atletico Madrid is just one point behind Barcelona in La Liga, proving Alvarez’s significant impact. Meanwhile, Manchester City has struggled, sitting 20 points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool and suffering a tough exit from the Champions League at the hands of Real Madrid.
Reflecting on his decision to leave City, Alvarez shared with Marca: “You want to play in the biggest games. As I said, I wasn’t in the Champions League final. I played very little in the semi-final, and I really wanted to be part of those moments. That’s one of the reasons I thought about leaving.”
He went on to explain his time at City: “Since I arrived, the club believed in me. They brought me from River Plate to Europe, and I had the chance to play in many matches, score goals, and win titles. Everything was great, and if I had stayed, I would have been comfortable. But deep inside, I felt I needed a new challenge. Not motivation, because I’ve always been driven to push for more, but something different in my career. I felt that Atletico could be the place where I could grow and become the best version of myself as a player.”
Alvarez also spoke kindly about Guardiola, saying, “The last conversations I had with Pep were full of gratitude. He thanked me for everything I contributed over two years, saying that I never caused problems and always gave my best. I have the same gratitude towards the club.”
In the 2023 Champions League semi-finals, Alvarez played for just one minute across both legs, and he wasn’t included in the final against Inter Milan. After Alvarez’s departure, Guardiola admitted that letting him go might have been a mistake. Guardiola said in August, “I’m happy with the squad. We didn’t expect Julian to leave, although he had been in talks with other clubs for some time. It happened in the end. If we have a lot of injuries, it will be a problem, but in a few months, Oscar Bobb will return, and players like Phil Foden, James McAtee, Ilkay Gundogan, and Bernardo Silva can step into that role. They are different players than Erling Haaland, of course. Maybe it was a mistake, but I don’t like leaving players out for too long. When everyone gets a chance to play, the team performs better.”
