A report from Spain has claimed that Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez has a release clause embedded into his current Etihad Stadium deal.

The FIFA World Cup winner with Argentina from last season only signed for Manchester City in January 2022, but has already extended his initial five-and-a-half year deal by an additional 12 months as a reward for his outstanding progress.

While Alvarez may have played second-fiddle to Erling Haaland for the most part of his first season at the club, the ongoing campaign has seen the striker take on new heights as he operates largely in an attacking midfield role.

With 10 goal contributions to his name, Julian Alvarez is a firm favourite of Pep Guardiola's at present, and is likely to remain as a mainstay in the starting line-ups until at least Kevin De Bruyne returns from an ongoing lengthy recovery process.

But with such great success comes even greater interest from elsewhere in European football, and a new report has indicated this week that a familiar name could be eyeing the possibility of making a move for Julian Alvarez via a shock release clause in his deal.

That is according to the information of Spanish newspaper Sport, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, who claim that Julian Alvarez has a EUR50 million release clause at Manchester City - something that is supposedly working in Barcelona's favour.

While the claim of such a clause may work in the La Liga side's favour, the report highlights that in favour of Alvarez remaining at the Etihad Stadium is Manchester City's wish to keep the player, with Pep Guardiola 'in love', and Txiki Begiristain not wanting him gone either.

Nevertheless, Sport claim that Barcelona are 'very attentive' to the 23-year-old Argentina international as they look for a replacement for Robert Lewandowski, with both manager Xavi and the club's management said to like Julian Alvarez.

Alvarez and Argentina embark on their final FIFA World Cup qualifying fixture of the November international break on Tuesday night, as they take on Peru before players return to their respective club sides.

Julian Alvarez and Manchester City will reunite later this week ahead of the final preparations for the return of Premier League football on Saturday afternoon, as Pep Guardiola and his players welcome Brighton & Hove Albion to the Etihad Stadium.