Julián Álvarez
Forward · Atlético Madrid · Argentina
About Julián Álvarez
Julián Álvarez is an Argentine forward who scored four goals at the 2022 World Cup, won the Champions League with Manchester City and reached the 2026 World Cup final with Argentina. Known as La Araña, the Spider, he is a tireless presser and mover who can score from midfield or through the middle. He signed for Atlético Madrid in 2024 and remained there after a long transfer saga in summer 2026.
Julián Álvarez's story
Calchín Boy
Julián was born on 31 January 2000 in Calchín, a Córdoba town of about 3,000 people. With his two older brothers, Agustín and Rafael, he kicked a ball around the house from the age of three. At 11 he trialled with Real Madrid and scored twice in five games, but age rules for foreign signings sent him home.
A Quiet Lad
Calchín teachers remember a boy who spoke little and carried his school's flag. His first coach, Rafael Varas, says Julián later gave him a van for his delivery work. In 2024 he donated his 1.5 million peso Olympic grant to boyhood club Atlético Calchín.
River Plate
River scouted him at an Under-15 trial in Embalse. He debuted on 27 October 2018 and came on late in the Copa Libertadores final against Boca at the Bernabéu. In 2021 he was the Argentine league's top scorer and South American Footballer of the Year.
Manchester City
He joined City in January 2022 after asking Sergio Agüero about the club. In 2022-23 he won the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, though he did not play in the final. He finished with 36 goals in 103 games for the club, and added the UEFA Super Cup in 2023.
World Cup Years
He scored four goals at the 2022 World Cup, won the 2024 Copa América, then scored against Switzerland in the 2026 quarter-final. Spain won that tournament's final 1-0 after extra time on 19 July 2026.
Atlético and Amadeo
Atlético Madrid signed him on 12 August 2024 for a reported fee of up to €95m. He scored 29 goals in his first season and a club-record 10 in the 2025-26 Champions League. His son, Amadeo, was born on 2 January 2026, and Barcelona's summer 2026 pursuit ended when Atlético refused to negotiate.
Did you know?
- 1 Aged 22 years and 316 days, he became the youngest player since Pelé in 1958 to score twice in a World Cup semi-final, against Croatia at the 2022 World Cup.
- 2 Rivals in Calchín nicknamed him La Araña, the Spider, because he seemed to have so many legs, and he still celebrates with a Spider-Man pose.
- 3 His first child, Amadeo, was born on 2 January 2026 to him and his partner, María Emilia Ferrero, and River Plate welcomed the baby as "un riverplatense más".
- 4 His brothers Agustín and Rafael are footballers too, and both played for non-league Abbey Hey while Julián was at Manchester City.
- 5 He holds an Italian passport through his family heritage, so he registers as an EU player in Spain.
- 6 His father's rule when he was a boy was "no tattoos, no cigarettes, no alcohol", and he told L'Equipe in July 2026 that he does not feel the need for tattoos.
- 7 He taught Manchester City team-mate Sergio Gómez to make mate in a club video, and says he likes drinking it in the afternoon with his family.
- 8 At the 2022 World Cup he played truco against AFA president Claudio Tapia and two others the night before Argentina's second match, and after a win it became a lucky ritual, with a photo at the end of every session.
- 9 His goal after 40 seconds in the 2023 Club World Cup final against Fluminense is the fastest in the competition's history.
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