Both Alvarez and Haaland arrived at the Etihad Stadium last summer but having played in European football for the entirety of his career and followed City as a child, the Norwegian was primed to settle in Manchester.
For Alvarez, a 22-year-old who had shone at Argentinian side River Plate, that transition was a much more dramatic one.
Now, just six months since first reporting for duty at City, Alvarez is a World Cup winner and has scored eight times for the Blues.
Our No.19 says a large part of his development during that period is down to his relationship with his fellow striker.
“I always say that beyond being a great player he’s a great person who always tries to help me,” said Alvarez.
“As a player he’s been showing how good he is for a while now with all of the goals he’s scored, not just here at Manchester City but also his former clubs.
“What surprised me about him was his mentality, he wants more and more every day, and also for his height he’s so strong, quick, intelligent and decisive in front of goal.
“He’s decisive for the team so I try to learn from him every day and to see what I can take from him, playing with the best always helps you.
“I’m yet to play alongside him so I’m trying to prepare myself so that I can play as a lone striker or with him, whatever it may be, and just give my all.”
In making the move from Buenos Aires to Manchester, Alvarez traded Marcelo Gallardo for Pep Guardiola. Gallardo is regarded as one of the best coaches in South America while our boss is considered by many as the best in the world.
While Alvarez’s talent and work ethic ensured he had a strong chance of success, working with two of the brightest managerial minds has elevated his game to a level that saw him strike up a deadly partnership with Lionel Messi in Qatar last month.
Asked about the difference and similarities between the pair, Alvarez said: “Obviously they’re different but they’ve still got a lot in common. It was great to work with Marcelo for many years because I developed a great deal under him as both a person and as a player.
“I developed playing in different roles so that helped me, and now coming here with Pep, obviously I try to listen to every piece of advice he gives in every training session in order to improve. They might ask different things of me, but as a 22-year-old I try to learn and listen every day to keep improving.”
Now, Alvarez is focused on contributing as much as possible to City’s hunt for silverware this season.
The next challenge comes on Thursday when Tottenham Hotspur are the visitors to the Etihad Stadium in a match that marks the halfway point of the Premier League campaign.
With City eight points behind league leaders Arsenal, Alvarez is well aware of the need for a positive result against Antonio Conte’s side.
He said: “Every game in the Premier League is a challenge, there are great teams with top players, but Tottenham have been playing great football for many years now, and that’s been the case this season as well, so it’ll be a key game.
“But as I said we’ll focus on ourselves, we want to get more points, so it’ll be a great game which we’ll try to win as always.
“Arsenal have been doing great, but we’re just focused on doing well in every game that comes, taking things game by game, trying to win and not drop points.”
CITY V SPURS
You can follow the match across mancity.com and our official app.
Our Matchday Centre begins coverage at 18:00 with live text updates throughout the night.
Matchday Live will start just before 19:00 in order to bring the team news immediately. Cel Spellman will be joined by Michael Brown, Paul Dickov and Steve Howey for that one.
For the match itself, Alistair Mann and Andy Morrison will provide radio commentary.
After the game, we will have full reaction from the manager, a player and then highlights at midnight.
