Julian Alvarez has opened up on his contact with Pep Guardiola since securing a £14m move to Manchester City in January.
Alvarez, now 22, was a surprise January signing from River Plate, but fans have quickly allowed themselves to get excited after seeing his impressive scoring record and his versatile range of finishes while spending the first half of 2022 back on loan at River.
Now, he has been confirmed as the 2021 'King of America' by outlet El Pais for his form in the last calendar year, and he received the award this week after helping Argentina win the 'Finalissima' trophy following their Copa America success.
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As well as declaring his gratitude, he confirmed he has still only spoken to Guardiola once since signing. "I had the opportunity to speak with Guardiola, around February when the contract had barely been signed," he said, having revealed that conversation earlier this year.
"It was a brief talk in which he welcomed me, congratulated me on what I was achieving." On his award, he said: "When the news came out I was on vacation, I was returning from a trip, I landed on the plane and all the messages just started to arrive, it was just in that moment and it was an immense joy."
And not content with the Finalissima, Alvarez has set his sights on this year's World Cup tournament in Qatar, saying the world of football owes teammate Lionel Messi the biggest trophy of them all.
"It would be very nice if it could be achieved for all Argentines and because I think that football owes it to Messi for everything he means to football worldwide," he said. "No I know if we are candidates but we are here to fight anyone."
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