Argentinian striker Julian Alvarez has stated that Manchester City will always be in his heart as he chases new challenges at La Liga club Atletico Madrid. Julian Alvarez completed his move to the Spanish capital club on Monday after signing a six-year deal to move from Premier League club Manchester City, two years after joining them from River Plate.

Manchester City and Pep Guardiola were keen to keep Alvarez, but the player continued to demand more playing time and chose to move elsewhere when assurances never came.

The Spanish side will pay an initial £64.4m (75m euros) with a further £17.1m (20m euros) in potential add-ons, totalling £81.5m. However, the 24-year-old’s sale is now Manchester City’s biggest sale eclipsing the £50m amount they received from Chelsea for Raheem Sterling two years ago.

Manchester City got Alvarez for £14.1m from Argentine side River Plate in January 2022, and he played 106 times for Manchester City, winning six major trophies in his two years at Etihad. The 24-year-old said goodbye to the club and said I will always have a special place in his heart.

“Today, I say goodbye to this amazing club with a lot of emotion. These have been two very special years. During this time, I have grown and learnt a lot – both as a player and as a person.” Julian said.

In his debut season in England, he helped the Cityzens to the treble and also won the World Cup with the national team in December 2022. The titles he has won, despite the 36 goals in 106 appearances for City, impressed City’s director of football, Txiki Begiristain, who said it has been a pleasure to work with Alvarez while looking forward to watching him develop further in the remainder of his career.

Atletico Madrid will travel to Villarreal on 19 August in their first game in the 2024/2025 La Liga season.