Barcelona keep Julián Álvarez pursuit alive despite Atlético refusal

Barcelona have publicly renewed their pursuit of Julián Álvarez, but Atlético Madrid have responded by hardening their refusal to sell the Argentina international as one of the summer’s most contentious transfer sagas enters its final days.

Barcelona president Joan Laporta confirmed on Wednesday that the Spanish champions remain interested in Álvarez and that their existing offer has not been withdrawn. His message was direct: Barça still want the forward and hope Atlético will ultimately reconsider a position that has so far left almost no room for negotiation.

Atlético’s response could hardly be further removed from that expectation.

The Madrid club continue to insist that Álvarez will not be sold to Barcelona. Their position is not merely that the current offer is insufficient; senior figures have framed the issue as one that now extends beyond valuation, with chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín maintaining that the probability of sanctioning a move to Barça is effectively “0%”.

Gil Marín has previously said Atlético would reject even an offer of €200 million for the striker, underlining the extent to which relations between the two clubs have deteriorated during the dispute.

That makes this an increasingly unusual transfer negotiation.

Barcelona are publicly maintaining an offer for a player who wants to leave, while Atlético are publicly insisting that there is no price at which they are prepared to strengthen one of their principal domestic rivals.

Laporta believes there may still be an opening.

The Barcelona president said Atlético had initially explained that they could not consider selling Álvarez because they did not have an adequate replacement. He has since pointed to reports suggesting the Madrid club could be prepared to discuss the forward with other interested teams, arguing that Barcelona should therefore remain in the conversation as well.

Atlético do not share that interpretation.

Cadena SER reports that the club have intensified their case against Barcelona with the Spanish federation and FIFA, adding material related to what Atlético consider improper pressure surrounding Álvarez and his future. The dispute has therefore moved well beyond the conventional final stages of a transfer window, where the principal questions are normally fee, payment structure and personal terms.

The relationship between the institutions themselves has become part of the story.

Barcelona’s existing proposal has been reported in Spain as €90m plus €10m in variables, with the payments spread over several years. Atlético rejected that structure and have consistently rejected the broader premise that Álvarez should be allowed to move to the Camp Nou.

The player’s own position has ensured the issue cannot simply disappear.

Álvarez made clear during the World Cup that he had discussed leaving Atlético and wanted the opportunity to pursue what he described as a dream move. Barcelona have remained his preferred destination, despite interest from elsewhere in Europe.

That stance has had consequences in Madrid.

The 26-year-old was jeered by sections of the Atlético support during Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal, both while warming up and after entering the match as a substitute. The reaction illustrated how a transfer dispute conducted largely between executives and representatives has now begun to affect the relationship between one of Atlético’s most valuable players and the Metropolitano crowd.

Álvarez was also absent from Wednesday’s training session.

Atlético attributed that absence to a physical indisposition, and there is no basis to present it as a refusal to train. The timing nevertheless adds another layer of scrutiny to a situation that has dominated the opening weeks of the club’s season.

For Atlético, the sporting argument for keeping him remains substantial.

Álvarez has scored 49 goals and provided 17 assists in 107 appearances since arriving from Manchester City in 2024. His contract runs until 2030, leaving Atlético under no contractual pressure to accept an offer this summer and giving them considerable leverage if they are prepared to withstand the wider disruption surrounding the player.

That is precisely what they appear prepared to do.

Unlike a club attempting to maximise the value of an asset before a contract enters its final years, Atlético can make a sporting decision. Their calculation is that retaining a world-class forward is more valuable than accepting a large fee from a direct rival — particularly after an increasingly hostile process that they believe has damaged both the club and the player.

Barcelona are making a different calculation.

Their interest has never disappeared, and Laporta’s latest intervention removes any suggestion that the pursuit has quietly ended. Rather than moving on publicly, Barça are keeping their proposal alive until the closing stages of the market and waiting to see whether circumstances force Atlético to engage.

As things stand, they have not.

There is no agreement between the clubs, no indication of an imminent medical and no evidence that Atlético have softened their position towards Barcelona. The latest development is therefore not a breakthrough towards a transfer but a sharpening of the confrontation around one.

Barcelona are still asking.

Julián Álvarez still wants a different outcome.

Atlético Madrid are still saying no.

With the deadline approaching, one of the window’s biggest potential transfers has become less a negotiation over price than a test of whether any of those three positions changes first.