Updated at 19.54
ATLETICO MADRID HAVE completed the signing of Julian Alvarez from Manchester City on a six-year contract.
The deal is understood to be worth over £81 million (€95 million) in total, with an initial fee of €75 million and €20 million in add-ons amounting to a record sale for City.
It represents a significant profit on a player signed from River Plate for £14m (€16m) and underlines manager Pep Guardiola’s willingness to let unhappy players leave.
Alvarez enjoyed astonishing success in his debut 2022-23 season for City. By Christmas of that campaign, he was a world champion with Argentina and went on to win the treble of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League with his new club, who retained the English top-flight title last term.
Alvarez told City’s website: “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.
“To the directors and the technical staff, thank you for your confidence and support. Your teachings and vision have helped me to develop so much.
“To my teammates, thank you for every moment we have shared, for the effort and dedication in every training session and every match.”
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s Community Shield win over Manchester United, Guardiola said he hoped Alvarez would find “happiness” in Spain.
“He played a lot last season and in some moments with Erling (Haaland) but I understand in some important moments he thought he was going to play,” Guardiola said.
“He said he wants a new challenge and it is what he has to do. I don’t like to tell players what they have to do. Contracts are nice but they can be broken. If they are not happy, why should they be there?
“If they think happiness is around the corner, go and take a look. Both clubs are happy with the agreement, I look forward to see him back to say bye to all of us.
“It was a joy to work with him, I learnt a lot from him and hopefully he can find what he was looking for.”
Elsewhere, Fabio Carvalho has joined Brentford from Liverpool on a five-year contract, the London club announced Monday.
No fee was disclosed, but British media reports said the 21-year-old Portuguese forward would initially cost the Bees £22.5 million (€26.3 million), with a further £5 million (€5.8 million) in add-ons.
Liverpool would also be entitled to a 17.5% sell-on fee for a player they bought from Fulham, another of the London clubs in the Premier League, for £5 million two years ago.
Carvalho’s contract also includes an additional one-year extension option.
“Fabio is a player with a lot of qualities,” Brentford boss Thomas Frank told the club’s website.
The Dane added: “He can play in all of the front three or four positions in a 4-3-3 or a 4-2-3-1. His best position is probably as a number 10 or coming in from the left.”
“Offensively, he has great abilities on the ball: he can go past players, slide a pass, create chances and get on the end of chances. He’s a type of player that we don’t have many of in the squad so he will add that something extra for us.
“His ability and mentality to work hard in the pressure is also very, very good.
“That’s along with him ticking all the boxes from a cultural perspective and being the right character. So we’re very pleased to see him come in and push the team forward.”
Carvalho spent last season on loan at German club RB Leipzig and then for English second-tier side Hull, where he scored nine goals in 20 appearances.
Brentford, who finished 13 points above the relegation zone last season, begin the new Premier League campaign at home to London rivals Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Additional reporting by AFP
