Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has marked out a clear stance on Julian Alvarez amid reports linking the forward with a move away from the Etihad Stadium.
Alvarez is currently competing in the Olympic Games in Paris with Argentina, capping off a hectic summer following his victory in the Copa America earlier this month.
The 24-year-old forward hinted that he might reassess his future at City after the Games, expressing frustration over not starting in high-stakes games for the club.
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Despite playing the fifth-most minutes of any City player last season, Alvarez's only start out of five major finals during his time at the club came at the 2023 FIFA Club World Cup.
Although he has scored an impressive 36 goals in his time at City, Alvarez often finds himself playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland — who was sidelined through injury during the CWC — or taking on a deeper role pretty much ever since arriving in the Premier League from River Plate in 2022.
His future has been thrown into question as he stated in a bombshell interview that he could leave the club for a more important role elsewhere amid interest from Atletico Madrid.
Pep Guardiola was quite blunt in his response to Alvarez's comments and the player attempted to downplay the situation without clearly stating his intention to remain at Manchester City in follow-up remarks.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid has initiated discussions and will need to meet City's asking price if they hope to convince the club to part with the player.
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Guardiola's policy is that he will never stop an unhappy player from leaving the club. But he has made it clear that Alvarez is still very much part of his plans for the upcoming season.
Speaking after their 4-2 friendly victory over Chelsea, Guardiola said: "He's absolutely our player. He will come back. I count on him. But he said in the news and decisions will be made all together. Now has to rest and when he feels ready to come back he will come back.
"I'm sure when he comes back I'll hug and congratulate for the Copa America, for the Olympics, and we will start to work together. This is the reality.
"What happens in the meantime, I have a thousand million things to think about the team , if we are ready. Next week we play for the first trophy of the season. Two weeks we play at Stamford Bridge again, that's my only concern."