Manchester City have reportedly agreed a fee to sell Julian Alvarez to Atletico Madrid in a club-record deal that could be worth as much as £81million.
The Premier League champions have been locked in talks with their Spanish counterparts this week and after negotiations progressed over the past 24 hours, the two parties have reportedly struck an agreement over the 24-year-old.
Atletico will pay £64m up front (€75m) with a further £17m of potential add-ons (€20m), which represents a record sale for City.
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Personal terms are still yet to be agreed, although not expected to be a problem after it emerged Alvarez informed the club he was ready to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer.
It represents a huge profit on the £14m City paid to sign Alvarez from River Plate in January 2022. He initially rejoined the Primera Division outfit on loan before joining up with City later in the summer and made an immediate impression.
The Argentina international has scored 36 goals in 103 appearances and was part of their treble-winning side in their historic 2022-23 season. But it seems Alvarez will be making history for another reason entirely as he closes in on a move away from the club.
Alvarez has been playing for Argentina at the 2024 Olympics in Paris this summer and it is unlikely that he will get a chance to bid farewell to his team-mates as he irons out the final details of his move to Spain.
Arsenal were strongly linked with the forward this summer, although it appeared unlikely that City would entertain selling to their title rivals.
It comes just days after Guardiola indicated that Alvarez would be staying at the club this summer. Speaking after his side’s 4-2 win over Chelsea in pre-season, the Catalan said: "He will come back. I count on him, but he said in the news that decisions will be made all together.
"Now he has to rest and when he feels ready to come back he will come back. I'm sure when he comes back I'll hug and congratulate him for the Copa America, for the Olympics and we will start to work together. This is the reality."
While it represents the highest sale in City's history, smashing the record set when they offloaded Raheem Sterling to Chelsea for £47.5m, Alvarez would become the second-most expensive signing for the Rojiblancos after they paid £107m to sign Joao Felix from Benfica in 2019.
It looks like Diego Simeone is set to splash the cash for a second time this week, with a £33m deal for Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher also set to be finalised once the England international undergoes a medical.
