Frank Leboeuf believes that one player should seek to leave Manchester City if he can, as he is currently being wasted.
City have a plethora of amazing players, and competition for regular minutes is extremely tough.
Pep Guardiola has built one of the strongest squads in world football, and the level is incredibly high. Only a select few players, such as Ederson and Erling Haaland are truly nailed-on picks for the manager.
Even Kevin De Bruyne these days is no longer a guaranteed starter.
There is just so much quality, and one man who found himself on the bench a fair bit in the second half of last season was Julian Alvarez.
He is a player who Frank Leboeuf actually believes is too good to be a substitute and is currently being wasted at City.
Frank Leboeuf urges ‘so talented’ Julian Alvarez to leave Man City if he can
Speculation has been rife about Alvarez over the past few weeks.
The Argentina international saw his minutes dry up in the second half of the 2023/24 season when De Bruyne and Haaland returned from their injuries, and Phil Foden continued his mesmerising form as a number 10.
Supposedly, he has been open to leaving the club for quite a while, and is also in favour of playing in a warmer climate.
Ultimately, he is not going to be a regular starter while City have these three players on the books.
Atletico Madrid are thought to be keen and Paris Saint-Germain have also been linked this summer. For Leboeuf, Alvarez should indeed try to leave, because he is ‘wasted’ at the Etihad.
He said in a video for ESPN UK: “That guy is too much of a big player to be on the bench. I mean, the guy is the champion of the world, the champion of Copa America, he scored goals for his national team, he’s winning titles and he’s on the bench.
“It’s a really big anomaly for Manchester City. He’s too much of a big player to be on the bench even for City. It’s a waste.
“I understand it’s frustrating for City and Guardiola because the guy is so talented and such a nice guy he seems to be, not complaining about anything.
“But if he has the chance, yeah, he has to go, he has to play, he needs more time on the field, less time on the bench and that’s quite understandable.”
Alvarez would start for so many other clubs
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Alvarez can’t really be blamed for potentially looking at making a move this summer.
Ultimately, he won’t start games for City ahead of De Bruyne, Foden or Haaland, but he certainly would start for most other top clubs in Europe.
The £100,000-a-week ace is in a tricky spot though, because we are about to head into August and it could be tricky for City to get a replacement in for him should they sanction Alvarez’s exit.
This is why City are reportedly asking for a fee in the region of £60 million plus £17 million in add-ons. They know that most clubs won’t be able to afford that.
Perhaps Alvarez could just give it one more season to see what happens. There could be injuries again which would pave the way for him to start more matches.
