Manchester City will unveil Julian Alvarez this weekend and welcome him into the squad for the new season after confirming his arrival on Friday.
Alvarez played his final game for River Plate this week - a disappointing Copa Libertadores exit to Velez Sarsfield - after spending six months on loan at his first club following his transfer to City in January. Fans have been getting excited over his goal record and the range of finishing this year at River, and in turn, they have been getting accustomed to the sight of Alvarez's personal goal celebration.
City have already leaned into Alvarez's nickname of the 'Spider', by using a spider emoji on social media when posting about their new striker. As part of their promotional material for Alvarez's arrival this week, the club shared an explanation of exactly where the nickname originated.
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In a video, Alvarez's brother, Agu, said the nickname has been a family name given to Julian since childhood, saying: "Since he was five years old everyone already called him Spider. It's very beautiful how he is still called spider now as a professional player."
And in a previous interview, Alvarez himself explained how that nickname led to his now-iconic celebration, which sees him spread his arms wide and extend his thumb, forefinger and little finger like Spiderman.
"Some friends suggested it because my nickname is Spider and I did it," he is seen saying in a TV interview while still at River.
Alvarez leave River with 55 goals in 120 appearances, including 17 goals and six assists in 24 outings this calendar year. He has said he wants to create a legacy at City like fellow Argentines Sergio Aguero, Pablo Zabaleta and Carlos Tevez, while he sought advice from Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi and Willy Caballero.
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