Julián Alvarez Religion

What religion is Julián Alvarez?

Julián Alvarez is an Argentine professional footballer who is a Christian and is believed to follow the Roman Catholic faith. During Argentina’s 2022 FIFA World Cup victory celebrations, Álvarez was also seen participating in prayers and thanksgiving moments alongside teammates. Julián Alvarez plays for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team. He previously played in England for Manchester City, where he won the continental treble in the 2022-23 season. With the Argentina national football team, Alvarez won the 2021 Copa América, the 2022 Finalissima, the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and the 2024 Copa América.

Salary & Contract

Julián Alvarez’s current contract is a six-year deal. The contract, valued at a total of €75 million, breaks down to an annual salary of €12.5 million. This translates to weekly wages of approximately €240,000. Álvarez’s current contract is set to lead him into free agency on June 30, 2030, though he could leave much sooner as FC Barcelona pushes to sign him in a blockbuster deal, despite Atlético Madrid demanding a massive valuation of up to €150 million.

Early life

Julián Álvarez was born on January 31, 2000, in Córdoba Province, Argentina. He is the son of Gustavo and Mariana Álvarez, and he has two older brothers who are both footballers. Álvarez played football prolifically growing up, and at the age of seven, he began playing for the youth team of Club Atlético Calchín, where he scored a minimum of 40 goals per season. One of the biggest moments of his early life came in 2011 when he traveled to Spain for a trial with Real Madrid. Because of FIFA age regulations involving international youth transfers, he could not stay permanently at the club despite impressing coaches during the trial.

River Plate

Álvarez came through River Plate’s academy before making his senior debut in March 2019, scoring in a 3–0 win over Independiente. In December 2019, he scored in the Copa Argentina final as River won 3–0 against Central Córdoba. On May 25, 2022, he scored six goals in an 8–1 Copa Libertadores win over Alianza Lima, one of the most extraordinary individual performances in the competition’s history. He won three Argentine Primera División titles and the Copa Argentina during his time at the club.

Manchester City

On January 31, 2022, his 22nd birthday, Manchester City confirmed they had signed Álvarez on a five-and-a-half-year contract for £14 million, initially loaning him back to River Plate until mid-2022. He made an immediate impact upon arriving in Manchester. In May 2023, he won his first English title when Manchester City secured the Premier League. The club finished the 2022–23 season by also winning the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League, completing a historic continental treble.

In the 2022–23 season, Álvarez scored 23 goals in all competitions for club and country, a spectacular debut campaign that fired him to 7th place in the 2023 Ballon d’Or rankings. Moreover, Álvarez scored a clinical brace and provided an assist in a 4–0 victory over Fluminense in the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup final while finishing as the tournament’s top scorer. His opening strike, which occurred after only 40 seconds, set a historic record as the fastest goal in the competition’s history. Despite his contributions, growing competition for minutes prompted a departure after two years.

Atlético Madrid

In August 2024, Álvarez signed a six-year contract with the La Liga club Atlético Madrid. He settled quickly under Diego Simeone, establishing himself as the club’s primary striker. Across 357 competitive career matches, he has scored 143 goals and registered 63 assists. In the 2025–26 La Liga season, he has recorded eight goals and four assists in 29 appearances, helping Atlético remain competitive in both La Liga and the Champions League.

International career

Álvarez represented Argentina at the under-20 and under-23 levels before making his senior debut in 2021. He was part of Argentina’s squad for the 2021 Copa América, in which they won their first major international trophy in 28 years. His defining international moment came at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where he scored four goals, including two in the semi-final against Croatia as Argentina won the tournament for the first time since 1986, defeating France on penalties in one of the greatest finals in the competition’s history. He also won the 2024 Copa América with Argentina, defeating Colombia in the final, and has since become one of the first names in the squad as Argentina prepares to defend their World Cup title in North America at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Personal life

Álvarez is in a long-term relationship with Argentine influencer and student Emilia Ferrero. On 22 June 2025, the couple announced that they were expecting their first child, a boy.

Álvarez holds dual Argentine-Italian nationality through his family ancestry. Because of his Italian passport, he qualifies as a European Union (EU) player. This allowed Atlético Madrid to register him in La Liga without occupying a non-EU player spot in the squad.

Honors

In 2021, Álvarez was named the South American Footballer of the Year and finished as the Argentine Primera División top scorer for the 2021 season. He was the standout performer for River Plate, also earning the Transfermarkt Argentine Player of the Year award in 2021. Following his transfer to La Liga, Julián won the award for Atlético Madrid Player of the Month multiple times. He was selected as the Atlético Madrid Player of the Season for the 2024–25 campaign and won the award again for the 2025–26 season.