Julian Alvarez's phone kept ringing, every day. It was Rodrigo de Paul, then Antoine Griezmann, then Giuliano Simeone, the Atletico Madrid's manager's son. And behind every call, pulling the strings, was Diego Simeone himself, firing messages into Alvarez's phone during the Copa America and the Paris Olympics of the summer of 2024.

In the end, the World Cup-winning Argentina striker, who had just clinched the Premier League with Manchester City, had to beg for it to stop. "Tell your dad to stop calling," Alvarez finally told Giuliano. He was coming, so could they all back off?

The story shows the first time Alvarez encountered the intensity of Diego Simeone, and also why he chose Atletico Madrid over Paris St-Germain, who were reportedly offering up to £8.7m a season in wages.

Julian Alvarez started his career with River Plate. Alvarez grew up in Calchin, a town of 3,000 people in the province of Cordoba, Argentina. His brother Rafael started calling him 'La Aranita' - the Little Spider. When he played on the neighbourhood pitch, 50 metres from his front door, no-one could get the ball off him. He seemed to have too many legs. Opponents from other villages would show up asking: "Is La Aranita playing today?" The name stuck and his teachers were the only people who ever called him Julian.

Aged 11, he impressed in a trial with Real Madrid, but returned home anyway, a decision he calls one of the most formative of his life. At 15, a River Plate scout named Juanjo Borrelli needed only one training session to decide that this kid from a tiny Cordoban town had to come to Buenos Aires. Borrelli told him he would start on the bench but he did not stay there for long. River Plate made Alvarez.

In one extraordinary Copa Libertadores performance against Alianza Lima, he scored six goals in a 8-1 win, which announced him to the world. Playing for one of South America's giants, where winning every game is an obligation, forged the competitive instinct that now defines him. "Once you're at River," he said, "you can never lose a game without it hurting you." From River Plate, he went to Manchester City in January 2022. There he won the Champions League in his debut season, becoming part of Pep Guardiola's machine and thriving within it. He was 23. It was all happening very fast. Then came the calls.

Alvarez helped Manchester City win the Champions League for the first time. What Atletico manager Simeone sold him was a football project that had the striker at the centre of it. Alvarez wanted to feel wanted. "He told me I could give the club something huge," he recalls. "That I'd have the space and the opportunity to be my best version." The Argentines already at the club helped too - De Paul, Griezmann's warmth, the Spanish language, a culture that felt closer to home than Paris or Manchester ever could.

In August 2024, Atletico Madrid confirmed the deal - 95m euros (£81.5m), a club record received by City, and a six-year contract. The club announced it with a Spiderman video and Alvarez loved it. Ask him about the price tag and he almost looks confused by the question. "It's more something that gets talked about in the media," he said. "In the dressing room I'm just one of the group. I like being treated that way." His father worked in a cereal factory in Calchin. His mother was a schoolteacher. He grew up knowing that you have to earn respect, or reputation. He is still the same person. It shows on the pitch too - the World Cup winner who sprints back to win the ball, who presses from the front. Simeone rarely singles out individuals, but with Alvarez, he makes exceptions.

Across two seasons in red and white, he has made 102 appearances and scored 47 goals, numbers that tell only part of the story. His time at Atletico has not been without frustration. In La Liga this season, the numbers have been modest - eight goals in 29 appearances, and just one in 2026. His strike against Oviedo at the end of February ended a run of 14 league games without a goal, his previous one coming against Sevilla on 1 November.

But the Champions League has been a different story, bringing nine goals in 12 appearances this season. Alvarez played a key role in Atletico's first-leg Champions League win at Barcelona. Last week he delivered one of his most complete European performances yet. In the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Barcelona at the Camp Nou, 'La Arana' was everywhere. He provided the assist that drew the foul on Pau Cubarsi and got the Barcelona defender sent off. Then he stepped up and curled in a free-kick of genuine quality. Man of the match.

It is not surprising Barcelona are looking to replace an ageing Robert Lewandowski and an inconsistent Ferran Torres with Alvarez. He has a 500m euros (£435m) release clause, and Atletico will not sell for less than 100m euros (£87m), a fee Barcelona's current finances cannot support. Club president Enrique Cerezo was asked about Alvarez last week and said: "He has a contract with Atletico Madrid." Alvarez, characteristically, said almost nothing. "I'm happy here," he said, but left the door slightly open to the Catalans when he also said about his future: "I don't know. You never know."

The Champions League run may decide everything. If Atletico eliminate Barcelona on Tuesday to reach the semi-finals, the argument for staying writes itself - this is a club that can win things. If on the other hand Atletico get knocked out, having come to the Metropolitano with a 2-0 advantage, then he might reconsider if he is at the right club.