Barcelona Targets Julian Álvarez as Key Signing
Barcelona are convinced the road still leads to Camp Nou.
Julian Álvarez, preparing for a World Cup semi-final against Thomas Tuchel’s England, is the centre-forward they have ringed, underlined and circled again. With Robert Lewandowski gone to Chicago Fire in MLS, the Argentine has been installed as the club’s priority to lead the line in the new Hansi Flick era.
The problem? He still belongs to Atlético Madrid. And Atlético are not picking up the phone.
Barcelona’s £85m marker
Earlier in the summer, Barcelona put down a serious marker: an offer in the region of £85m to prise Álvarez out of the Spanish capital. Atlético did not respond.
Silence, though, has not shaken Barcelona’s belief. Inside the club, the feeling persists that they remain in pole position, because Álvarez himself has pushed the door open.
A few weeks ago in the United States, the 26-year-old made it clear he wanted out of Madrid and urged Atlético to negotiate. In Barcelona, that was read as a message directed squarely at them. Not a general come-and-get-me plea. A statement of intent.
So far, Álvarez has refused to negotiate with any other club. For Barça, that is the key detail.
Arsenal and PSG wait in the shadows
The stance has not stopped Europe’s heavyweights from hovering.
Arsenal, fresh from a Premier League title, are tracking every development. In Argentina, Clarin report that Mikel Arteta’s staff are “following every movement” and are ready to step in if Barcelona stumble.
Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League holders, are also in the frame. Both clubs have the financial power to complicate any deal, yet neither has gone beyond Barcelona’s proposal.
The understanding is that Arsenal’s offer currently falls short of the £85m benchmark. PSG, for their part, are only prepared to reach that figure if players are included in a wider package. Barcelona know this. Their sporting department is said to be “aware” that no one has yet outbid them.
For now, that keeps them at the front of the queue.
New offer, same gamble
Barcelona are not standing still. In Spain, reports indicate the club are preparing a new, improved offer to present to Atlético at the end of July.
The fixed fee will stay close to the original £85m. The difference will come in the structure: a battery of variables and performance-related add-ons designed to sweeten the deal without blowing up the immediate outlay.
There is also the option of sending a player in the opposite direction, a solution Hansi Flick’s staff have accepted may be necessary. President Joan Laporta is expected to take the lead when the negotiations finally move from theory to table.
The clock, however, is ticking.
World Cup first, decisions later
For Álvarez, everything else is on mute.
The forward is said to be fully focused on Argentina’s World Cup campaign and has no intention of making a definitive call on his club future until the tournament ends. That stance could push the saga deep into August.
Barcelona are optimistic, but not indefinitely patient. Inside the club there is an acceptance that the situation cannot drag on beyond the early days of August without consequences.
Flick’s first La Liga match is set for August 23. The German coach has made his position clear: any new first-team signing must be in the squad and integrated before the season starts. This is not a deal that can be left to the final hours of the window.
Just as with the first proposal, the revised offer will come with an expiry date. Atlético will be given a window. Not a blank cheque.
Plan B in the background
Barcelona know they cannot allow their entire summer to hinge on one negotiation, no matter how much Álvarez wants the move.
Sources close to the club have admitted to Spanish outlet AS that work is already under way on an alternative forward. The identity of that player remains under wraps, but the profile is clear: another attacker considered among the elite on the international stage.
It is a safety net, not a shift in strategy. Inside Camp Nou, the conviction remains that Álvarez will be wearing Barcelona colours next season.
Whether Atlético Madrid finally break their silence will decide if that belief becomes reality or another chapter in Barcelona’s long list of transfer near-misses.
