Julian Alvarez will never be the same again.
When he returns to Manchester City on Monday, his life has changed forever regardless of whether he comes back to England a World Cup winner.
This tournament has a habit of catapulting the careers of forwards into the cosmos.
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Michael Owen didn’t look back after his performances for England in 1998, Miroslav Klose’s trademark somersault goal celebration was commonplace on TV screens after 2002.
Lionel Messi four years later; Kylian Mbappe and Cristiano Ronaldo both rewrote history at the World Cup finals.
There is something about the glare of global publicity, the pressure and the opportunity to shine before the eyes of the world that brings the best out of the truly great players.
It is early days for Alvarez at only 22 but already he is shaping up to take Argentina into a new era of international success and once back here to add yet more devastating firepower to an already formidable Manchester City front line.
On the bench for his country’s first two group games in Qatar and a bit part player in qualification he has since been unleashed by Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni with astonishing success.
Four goals puts him just one behind the tournament’s leading scorers Messi and Mbappe, who are dominating discussion in the lead up to Sunday’s final. Yet Alvarez has a higher goals per 90 minutes ratio than both men.
He has as many goals as France’s hugely accomplished veteran striker Olivier Giroud but again is more prolific in terms of minutes played. It’s as if the phrase ‘impact player’ was created for him.
Alvarez was already making a name for himself prior to the World Cup. But it was being done quietly.
Six goals in barely three months for any new, young signing at a top Premier League club is impressive by any standards but even more so when City boss Pep Guardiola was told he faced a ‘risk’ investing in a relative unknown.
The £14.1 million that City ‘gambled’ on Alvarez now looks one of the deals of the season. Plenty of far more experienced players have failed to match that record when introduced to the toughest league in the world.
It now looks like loose change that has brought one of the most up and coming players in world football to add sparkle to the Premier League mix.
The deal would be considered the best this season had it not been for the ludicrously piffling amount that City splashed on bringing Erling Haaland into their stable at the same time.
Arsenal’s £45m to take Gabriel Jesus out of City in the summer is no bum deal. But compared to the peanuts paid for Alvarez it makes Guardiola look even more astute.
He is now blessed with the most terrifying forward line in club football and while Alvarez has been steadily growing in influence, Haaland has been resting up at home and will be raring to go again when domestic football resumes next week.
The slowly but surely progress is mirrored at team and international level.
In the giant shadow of Haaland at the Etihad Stadium, Alvarez has been getting to grips with the rough and tumble of the English game and the dogged fight for every inch of ground.
In the desert of Qatar, he has been warmed by the winter sun and is blossoming into a key part of Argentina’s bid to win the World Cup for the first time since 1986.
Alvarez has scored key goals but has also emerged as the player to partner Messi in his swansong on the biggest stage.
France will now have two dangerous South American players up front to worry about, in much the same way as Mbappe and Giroud have provided a two-pronged attack for Les Blues.
Alvarez left England a boy and will return a man. He will become the spearhead for Argentina for years to come. It will be fascinating to see if he can continue to grow and eventually challenge Haaland for that role at City.
