Julian Alvarez transfer: Why signing an Argentine star could be a bigger risk than usual for Atletico Madrid

One of the highest honors for a footballer is to represent his country at the highest level, but with matches being added to the early football schedule by the minute, multiple tournaments can prove to be too much. In a year that includes the European Championship, the Copa America and the Olympic Games, Julian Alvarez is one player who could be hampered by the number of matches on the schedule.

The 24-year-old is reportedly on the verge of death making a move of over $100 million to Atletico Madrid as he looks for more playing time. After a season in which he scored 19 goals and 13 assists in all competitions for Manchester City, it is clear why Atletico would want the Argentine to help reinvent the attack following defeat. Alvaro Morataand on the face of it Alvarez is a good person to bring in for that, but it’s a move that comes with quite a bit of risk.

In all competitions Manchester city in 2023-2024, Alvarez made 54 appearances and logged 3,481 minutes. But where things add up is during the summer. Between winning Copa America with Argentina and representing them at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, Alvarez would make ten more appearances, totaling 731 minutes. That final total of 64 appearances and 4,215 minutes without an extended break from football is something that adds up for a player, especially when you consider the travels of these international tournaments in a compressed time frame.

Canadian coach Jesse Marsch has spoken about how he felt let down Dani Olmo playing at both the European Championships and the 2020 Olympics was the wrong decision when coaching him at RB Leipzig. The season before, Olmo made 46 appearances, scoring seven goals and assisting a further nine in 3,263 minutes before leaving to represent. Spain. Over the summer, Olmo added a further 11 appearances and 942 minutes, putting him on a similar level to Alvarez this summer.

What followed was a season to forget, with numerous muscle injuries cropping up and Olmo never making an appearance for Leipzig and failing to surpass 1,500 minutes played in all competitions.

“Normally in Europe we give players three weeks off after every major tournament as this is often the only time off they have all year. So reluctantly and against the wishes of the club I allowed Dani to play at the Olympic Play to play. And I did it because I wanted to invest in our relationship in the long term and show him that I wanted to support him,” said Marsch on Call it what you want. “But he came back, I gave him a week off after the Olympics – I think they went to the semi-finals in both – and when he came back to training he got injured two weeks later. In my time at Leipzig, I think he only played twenty minutes for me, he hardly ever played and this was a factor in the way the team performed.”

Some of this shows that Atletico Madrid will probably have to give Alvarez more time off, but when it comes to getting used to a new club, that’s easier said than done, especially when Atleti are in the Champions League and also need goals in the starting eleven. behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Below are a few similar cases to Alvarez who participated in multiple summer tournaments in recent years before returning to their clubs:

Each of these players has seen their performances decline as the season progresses after successive tournaments and they have also become more prone to injury with Pedri now sidelined for the next European Championships and Richarlison also struggling with his pre-season fitness.

While these examples aren’t a definitive case study, they are cause for concern if you’re spending so much money building your team around Alvarez. He is an excellent young player, but as the demands on footballers increase day by day with the addition of new competitions, they are struggling with their fitness. Atleti will need to ensure Alvarez gets plenty of rest ahead of the season as pushing him out of the gate could be costly.