Julian Alvarez celebrates a goal with his Atletico Madrid teammates (Photo by Judit Cartiel, Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Liverpool reportedly discussed a swap deal with Manchester City involving Luis Diaz and Julian Alvarez last summer.
The Reds have just splashed the cash on the exciting signing of Alexander Isak from Newcastle United, in what has been reported as a British transfer record fee by BBC Sport.
However, a year earlier it seems Liverpool could have signed another world class striker for what would presumably have been much cheaper.
Some new details have emerged in a report by the Telegraph, which states that Man City had an interest in signing Diaz while he was still at Anfield.
This led LFC to briefly discuss a swap that would have seen Diaz and Alvarez swap places, but City shut it down and it quickly fizzled out as a realistic possibility.
Julian Alvarez could have been a superb signing for Liverpool
In the end, Alvarez ended up leaving City for Atletico Madrid, while Diaz left Liverpool for Bayern this summer.
One imagines there won’t be too many Liverpool fans who care now, but Alvarez clearly could have been another fantastic signing for Arne Slot’s side.
Isak is probably the superior player overall, but Alvarez has an impressive record of 30 goals in 60 games for Atletico, while he also shone even in a squad player role during his time at the Etihad Stadium.
One imagines the Argentina international’s value has skyrocketed since his move to Spain, but Liverpool could clearly have signed him for very little if a swap deal had gone through.
What Man City told Liverpool about Julian Alvarez deal
According to the Telegraph, when Liverpool asked about Alvarez, City simply told them: “We don’t sell to rivals.”
Of course, we know this isn’t strictly true, as they notably sold both Gabriel Jesus and Oleksandr Zinchenko to Arsenal in the same summer back in 2022.
A year later, they also sold Cole Palmer to Chelsea, so it’s perhaps easy to see why they now don’t want to repeat those mistakes.
Jesus and Zinchenko ended up taking Arsenal up a level as they seriously challenged City for the title, while Palmer has been a revelation at Chelsea, helping them win trophies like the Conference League and the Club World Cup, as well as getting back into the Champions League.
Alvarez could clearly have had a hugely positive impact at Liverpool, so City will probably be glad they didn’t agree to the Reds’ swap proposal.
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