In the last few days, Barcelona have been given renewed hope of signing Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid this summer. The Argentine striker has reportedly turned down the offer of a new contract from Los Colchoneros, thus appearing to indicate that he is open to leaving during the upcoming transfer window.
On top of this, Atleti are showing some signs of being willing to sell Alvarez, who scored 20 goals in 49 appearances across all competitions during the 2025-26 season. However, it has also been made abundantly clear that any deal would need to be on top their terms, which is why Barcelona could still find it very tricky to get their man.
According to Marca, Alvarez has a strong desire to join a stronger project in the summer, but Atleti will only allow him to do so if they receive an offer in the region of €150m. For Barcelona, this would be a record deal as their current highest fee paid was for Ousmane Dembele back in 2017.
The report notes that the Alvarez situation has decided Atleti officials. Some are open to selling him as it would allow the funds to be re-invested in creating a stronger squad across all positions, while others want the club to maintain the hard-line stance that has been present since the 26-year-old started attracting interest.
Barcelona unlikely to reach €150m
While their expected return to La Liga’s 1:1 rule will mean that Barcelona have more flexibility when it comes to spending money, club bosses have already made it clear that limits are in place. They are prepared to spend no more than €100m on a new striker, so if a deal cannot be negotiated down with Atleti, it would be a surprise to see Alvarez end up at the Spotify Camp Nou.
For now, it remains to be seen how Alvarez’s situation plays out, but there is undoubtedly much more uncertainty on the matter compared to a few weeks ago.
