Barcelona Increases Bid for Julian Alvarez as Laporta Takes Charge

Barcelona’s summer plan has been clear for weeks: Julian Alvarez sits at the top of their list, and they are refusing to walk away easily.

A first proposal worth around €100 million, including add-ons, has already been pushed across the table to Atletico Madrid and promptly rejected. The answer from the capital was blunt. The bid stays there, but only for a short window, and Atletico have not blinked.

Now the Catalan club are preparing their next move.

Barca willing to go higher

Journalist Santi Ovalle reported on Cadena SER that Barcelona are not closing the Alvarez chapter and are, in fact, willing to increase their offer, despite suggestions to the contrary.

The current package, roughly €100 million payable in six instalments, is due to expire at the end of the month. With the clock ticking, Barca are working on a way to “unlock” the situation: pushing the total figure towards €130 million, likely by inflating the variable add-ons while keeping the guaranteed fee essentially the same.

It is a classic Barcelona play under financial strain – stretching the deal over time, betting on performance bonuses and future income, but refusing to abandon a marquee target.

Laporta takes the wheel

The transfer has now moved out of the usual sporting department channels and into the president’s office.

Joan Laporta has taken direct control of negotiations with Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin. The shift comes after sporting director Mateu Alemany did not respond to the formal proposal Deco sent to Atletico.

According to the report, Atletico’s sporting director has no real working relationship with Deco. The offer from Barcelona’s sporting chief was effectively sidelined and never escalated to the key decision-makers at the Madrid club.

So Laporta has stepped in, seeking to open a genuine executive-level dialogue and cut through the stalemate that has formed at sporting-director level. For Barcelona, this is no longer just a scouting or recruitment operation; it is a presidential mission.

Atletico dig in

On the other side of the table, Atletico’s message has stayed the same all summer: Alvarez is not for sale to Barcelona.

Sources at the club continue to insist they are unwilling to negotiate his departure to the Catalans. The stance has held even after Alvarez publicly stated that he wanted to leave, a declaration that might have unsettled many clubs but has not softened Atletico’s position.

Diego Simeone and his staff have already drawn their line. Alvarez has been instructed to report for pre-season training on August 10. Until told otherwise, he remains part of Simeone’s plans.

Barcelona are quietly hoping that the player will go further, that another public gesture from the Argentine could crank up the pressure on Atletico’s hierarchy and shift the dynamics of the deal.

Few alternatives, little margin

While the Alvarez pursuit dominates the headlines, Barcelona are not blind to the risks. They are scanning the market for alternatives, but internally there is a belief that very few forwards truly fit the profile Hansi Flick wants to build his attack around.

That reality only hardens their resolve. Alvarez is the chosen piece, the one they believe can reshape their front line.

Now the question is simple: will Atletico’s resistance hold once Laporta’s improved offer and presidential pressure arrive, or will one more push from the player force the first crack in the wall?