Manchester City to let wantaway star leave in outrageous swap deal: report

Pep Guardiola has only made one summer signing so far as the new 2024/25 Premier League campaign approaches  
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Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola (Image credit: Getty Images)

Manchester City are weighing up a potential player switch move with Real Madrid.

The Premier League champions have only made one summer addition so far, with exciting Brazilian winger Savinho arriving from Ligue 1 side Troyes. Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson are just two players linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium this summer.

Aiming to win an unprecedented fifth consecutive top-flight title this season, manager Pep Guardiola is rumoured to have sanctioned the sale for one of his wantaway stars, with there thought to be room for a swap deal to be agreed with Carlo Ancelotti’s men.

According to reports from Spanish outlet El Nacional, striker Julian Alvarez is not satisfied with playing back-up to Erling Haaland in attack and therefore wishes to seek pastures new. Real Madrid would be willing to take the forward and have put up Rodrygo as part of a potential swap deal.

Guardiola is said to be an ‘avid admirer’ of the Brazilian international, who may find minutes hard to come by this season, especially given Kylian Mbappe’s high-profile arrival from PSG. The 23-year-old in the past has expressed a desire to leave and it remains to be seen whether he once again push for a move away.

Alvarez could leave (Image credit: Getty Images)
Real Madrid is not considering a change between Rodrygo and Julian Alvarez, with the deal said to be solely relying on whether Manchester City can push forward with their advances to help the Argentina international leave the club. Alvarez netted 19 goals and registered 13 assists for the Sky Blues last season.

“Last season, I was one of the players with the most minutes at City. But in the end, you don’t like being left out of important matches; you want to contribute,” Alvarez said as relayed by MailSport. “I’ll take my time to think about what I want for myself. We will see after the [Olympic] Games. First, if I can, I will take a few days off. Then we will decide.”

Rodrygo could end up in Manchester (Image credit: Getty Images)
In FourFourTwo’s view, while it seems likely that Alvarez will leave Manchester City this summer in search of first team football, it seems extremely unlikely that it will be in exchange for Rodrygo. The Brazilian will remain a huge part of Carlo Ancelotti’s plans in 2024/25, with the club’s hierarchy certainly not expected to sanction his departure for anything less than their £150m valuation.