Guardiola hopes Alvarez 'finds happiness' at Atletico

Pep Guardiola has not ruled out signing a replacement for Julian Alvarez after sanctioning the World Cup winner's attempt to find "happiness" away from Manchester City.

Alvarez is close to completing a move to Atletico Madrid in a deal worth over £81m in total, with an initial fee of €75m and €20m in add-ons amounting to a record sale for City.

It represents a significant profit on a player signed from River Plate in his native Argentina for £14m and underlines Guardiola’s willingness to let unhappy players leave.

"I want to say my gratitude to Julian," Guardiola said ahead of Saturday’s Community Shield against Manchester United at Wembley.

"His two years here we won everything together and his contribution has been massive, whether being part of the starting XI or not.

"He’s incredibly loved by the team for his behaviour but like I said many times for many players, he wants to leave and have a new challenge.

"Atletico is a top club in Spain and Europe and when they suggested to me that he wanted to leave, imagine he stays here if he wants to leave?

"He played a lot last season and in some moments with Erling (Haaland) but I understand in some important moments he thought he was going to play.

"He said he wants a new challenge and it is what he has to do. I don’t like to tell players what they have to do. Contracts are nice but they can be broken. If they are not happy, why should they be there?

"If they think happiness is around the corner, go and take a look. Both clubs are happy with the agreement, I look forward to see him back to say bye to all of us.

"It was a joy to work with him, I learnt a lot from him and hopefully he can find what he was looking for."

Asked if a replacement for Alvarez might be bought before the end of