Man City's Alvarez was close to joining Real Madrid instead says River Plate vice president

Cameron Smith

• 8 Mar 2022 22:45 GMT
• 3 min read

Argentina forward Julian Alvarez joined Manchester City from River Plate on deadline day of the January transfer window, but he was reportedly very close to signing for Real Madrid instead.

Man City secured the signing of highly-rated striker Alvarez for a reported £14 million in January before loaning him back to River Plate to finish the season. However, they nearly missed out on him.

According to River Plate vice president Matias Patanian, Alvarez had an approach from Real Madrid, and was close to agreeing a move to the Spanish giants.

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Patanian told El Chiringuito: "Really, Madrid sounded very loud, even here. No, no City came directly a few months ago and we were able to really get Julian to be sold but have him staying [on loan]."

Patanian also confirmed that Alvarez "did a trial at Madrid," before his move to Man City was agreed.

However, with Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland among their summer transfer targets, Real Madrid never committed to offering Alvarez and River Plate a deal.

Alvarez was wanted by multiple elite clubs in the January window, with approaches from several European sides being reported. Manchester United were also interested, but their city rivals were able to secure his signature.

The striker has scored 21 goals and assisted six in just 25 club games this campaign, and this form caught the eyes of every major scout in Europe, with Pep Guardiola also taking an interest.

While they were unable to sign Harry Kane last summer, City finally secured the signing of a striker during the January window, although Alvarez is yet to meet his new team-mates due to being immediately loaned back to River Plate in order to compete in the Copa Libertadores.

Alvarez has been capped six times by his native Argentina, but is yet to score for his country. The 22-year-old will join his Man City team-mates in July, when his loan back to River Plate expires.