All year there has been a constant string of reports that Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez is the primary transfer target for Barcelona this summer, and it appears they are finally putting their intentions into motion. For his part, Alvarez has tried to distance himself from transfer talk where possible, without ruling out a departure.
Alvarez has been earmarked as the forward to replace Robert Lewandowski this summer by Barcelona, as they seek to bring in a quality number nine. Yet Atletico have been adamant that Alvarez, under contract until 2030, is not for sale, and have little need to consider one.
🚨 Marcus Rashford has made it clear that staying at FC Barcelona is his priority, having no interest in returning to Manchester United. Rashford considers that he has made merits to continue, and is open to give up a generous portion of his salary to facilitate a move. Hansi… pic.twitter.com/usl2YOO1Ez
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 27, 2026
Report: Alvarez communicates desire to join Barcelona
As per El Chiringuito, Alvarez has now communicated to Atletico that his desire is to join Barcelona this summer. This is yet to be confirmed by other outlets, but they go on to say that Barcelona have reached out to Atletico about a potential deal through intermediaries. This is corroborated by ESPN, who add that Barcelona President Joan Laporta intends to handle negotiations with Atletico Madrid Sporting Director Mateu Alemany, in a deal they know will be tricky to pull off.
😳 “JULIÁN ha COMUNICADO AL ATLETI que SU INTENCIÓN es irse al BARÇA”.
💣 BOMBAZO de @10JoseAlvarez sobre el futuro de Julián Alvarez en #ChiringuitoBarcelona. pic.twitter.com/CZV03VJCop
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) April 28, 2026
Terms of Barcelona’s opening offer for Julian Alvarez revealed
The same programme go on to reveal Barcelona’s intended opening offer for Alvarez. Jose Alvarez explains that Barcelona intend to make an offer of €70-75m for Alvarez, with a player included in the operation. It is not clear which players they might offer, but previously Ferran Torres has been cited as a player that could interest Los Colchoneros. Even so, their determination to keep Alvarez seems likely to get in the way of any swap deal.
💰 “El BARÇA HARÁ una OFERTA de 70 MILLONES AL ATLETI POR JULIÁN”.
😮 “Hay JUGADORES del BARÇA que INTERESAN al ATLÉTICO”.
ℹ️ Información de @10JoseAlvarez en #ChiringuitoBarcelona. pic.twitter.com/J52eghUJWH
— El Chiringuito TV (@elchiringuitotv) April 27, 2026
Alvarez responds to transfer speculation
Speaking on Monday ahead of Atletico’s Champions League clash with Arsenal, Alvarez pointed out that he cannot spend his time denying or clearing up transfer talk all the time, and prefers to expend his energy on preparing for matches. It has not gone unnoticed by media in Spain that he continues to avoid giving guarantees on his future.
