A professional footballer is lucky if they get to play with a generational player like Lionel Messi or Erling Haaland in their career. By definition, there aren’t many generational stars around at the same time, so many players don’t get that opportunity. For Argentina and Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez, fate gave him the chance not only to play with two generational superstars but do it in the same year, which he calls “a dream.”

“To play with the best and train with the best makes you better and learn a lot,” Alvarez told ESPN in an interview about his time with Messi and Haaland. “It's a dream to be among them and grow as a player and a person.”

Right before the 2022 World Cup, the English Premier League’s Manchester City bought the now-23-year-old forward from River Plate in Argentina for the modest (by international football standards) of €21.40 million. After arriving at City to presumably sit behind budding 23-year-old superstar Erling Haaland, Alvarez joined Argentina for the World Cup.

There he teamed up with the greatest player of all time, Lionel Messi, and became a key the eight-time Balon d’Or winner hoisting his first World Cup Trophy.

Upon returning to Pep Guardiola and Manchester City, Alvarez again became a surprising piece of history. City went on an epic run to end the season and won the long-awaited treble — Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup trophies — Man City fans were pining for.

Julian Alvarez may be done playing with Messi, at least at a World Cup level, as the Inter Miami midfielder (so far) says he won’t return for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. However, there is no end in sight for the Alvarez-Haaland pairing as the two are City’s first- and second-leading scorers this season, with 11 goals for Haaland and four for Alvarez.