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Julian Alvarez Manchester City spiderGetty
Chris Burton

The Little Spider: Julian Alvarez explains odd nickname following Man City transfer

Manchester City
Premier League
J. Alvarez

The highly-rated Argentine forward will be hoping to spin plenty of trophy-winning webs during his time in English football

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Julian Alvarez is looking to make an immediate impression at Manchester City on the back of his £14 million ($17m) transfer from River Plate, with the 22-year-old forward revealing why he is affectionately known as ‘The Little Spider’. That nickname has stuck with him since he was a starry-eyed youngster in Argentina, with family members bestowing it upon him.

The plan now is spin plenty of webs in the Premier League that catch opposition defenders out and allow more silverware to be collected by the reigning champions.

Why is Julian Alvarez known as ‘The Little Spider’?

The highly-rated South American grew up playing football on the streets of Calchin and has told Sky Sports of those early years spent learning his trade alongside older brothers: “It was a very small village and we always played together ever since I was very young.

“We shared the same group of friends. We would all meet up on a small pitch that we had in the village and spent many, many hours just playing football together.”

Explaining how he got his ‘El Aranita’ nickname, Alvarez added: “It was just something that came to me when I was a little kid, no older than four, playing football with my brothers.

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MCI

Premier League

31 Oct 2026

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“One day, my brother said, 'Look at him, like a little spider.' It just stuck and when you get older you don’t give it up. I like it, it is a great name.”

What are Julian Alvarez’s targets at Man City?

Alvarez opened his goal account for the Blues in pre-season, before going on to grab their consolation effort in a Community Shield defeat to Liverpool.

He is waiting on a first Premier League strike, but has full faith in his ability and will be setting lofty individual and collective targets at the Etihad Stadium in 2022-23.

“Winning the Premier League is a huge objective and we are setting out to win every trophy that we can,” Alvarez said of his ambition.

“For me, personally, my number one aim is to adapt quickly to the team and to play as much as possible. I want to go out there and provide assists and score goals.

“Obviously, the Champions League for its magnitude as a competition is something that I am looking forward to. That captures the imagination. But the Premier League itself on a weekly basis, it is such a huge league on a world level. I am very excited to just play.”

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