Barcelona Pursues Rodri and Álvarez in Transfer Window
Barcelona have picked their targets and are refusing to blink. With just over two weeks left of the summer window, the club remain fully locked in on Rodri and Julian Alvarez, convinced both deals can still be dragged over the line.
No safety nets. No alternative shortlists. According to Mundo Deportivo, inside the club there is no debate: these are the two signings they want to deliver for Hansi Flick, and every effort is being poured into those operations.
Rodri deal gathers pace
Of the two pursuits, Rodri is the one gathering real momentum.
The midfielder is back at Manchester City after his summer break, but Barcelona are working on the assumption that his mind is already leaning towards Flick’s project. Their belief in his desire to move is the foundation of their confidence.
The problem is the price.
City are holding out for a package in the region of €80 million. Barcelona know their second bid fell short and that any new proposal has to be stronger, but they are not planning to simply meet City’s valuation in full.
Instead, the Catalans are preparing a more layered offer. The fixed fee would remain below that €80m mark, with performance-related bonuses and add-ons used to push the total value closer to €70m. It is a structure designed to test City’s resolve without breaking Barcelona’s financial limits.
So far, City have rejected every approach. They are waiting for that improved bid, and until it lands, Rodri’s future sits in a holding pattern.
Inside Barcelona, though, there is a clear sense of timing. Mundo Deportivo report that the club expect the Rodri operation to move decisively in the coming days and are aiming to have it closed no later than next week. For Flick, that would mean a key piece of his midfield puzzle arriving before the final scramble of deadline week.
Álvarez battle runs into Atlético wall
If Rodri is the deal with a pathway, Julian Alvarez is the one stuck in traffic.
Barcelona’s interest is just as strong, but the road to the Argentine striker is far more congested. Atlético Madrid have dug in, maintaining a hard line that has turned this chase into a far more complex negotiation than the Rodri talks.
The key difference here is the resistance on the selling side. Atlético simply do not want to make it easy.
Yet Barcelona are clinging to one crucial factor: Alvarez himself. They remain convinced he has not let go of the idea of pulling on the Blaugrana shirt.
At 26, Alvarez is expected to keep pressing for a way out in the coming days, still searching for a route from Atlético to Camp Nou. He has already tried to bring Diego Simeone into the equation, hoping the coach might help ease his exit, but that push has not produced the breakthrough he wanted.
The answer was no. His determination stayed the same.
That leaves player power at the heart of this saga. Barcelona know Atlético’s stance is firm, maybe even entrenched, but they are effectively betting on Alvarez’s persistence to shift the landscape. If he continues to push, to insist, to make his preference clear, the calculation in Madrid may eventually change.
For now, Barcelona are walking a tightrope: one advanced operation for Rodri, one stubborn stand-off over Alvarez, and a clock that will not stop. If they land both, Flick’s squad looks very different by September. If they don’t, where do they turn with no alternatives in play?
