Widely tipped to win the World Cup’s best young player award, Julián Álvarez had to make do with just a winner’s medial instead, as Enzo Fernández picked up the personal trophy instead.
Still, the Manchester City player can be proud of his performances throughout the tournament, as he showed exactly why Pep Guardiola was so intent on signing him and having him around at the Etihad.
While he has been outshone by Erling Haaland to date, he has still held his own when called upon by the Premier League side this season.
The 22-year-old has three goals in 12 appearances in the league to date, and that could increase if he is given more time during the second half of the campaign at Manchester City.
This is what agent Filippo Colasanto, speaking to Firenze Viola, said when asked if there were regrets at the Serie A side regarding the Manchester City starlet.
He said: “Álvarez is an excellent striker with great talent: physically strong, technically very strong. You can see that, together with an important player like Messi, he is a player capable of being both a supporter and an excellent point of attack.
“I don’t know what happened with Fiorentina and why he wasn’t bought. Pradè said they were interested. It’s a shame. He was signed by City for very little money. He would have been an excellent purchase for La Viola, as well as a large future capital gain. I really believe in this player.”
