Atletico Madrid seems to prefer transferring Julian Alvarez to Paris Saint-Germain rather than to their domestic competitor, FC Barcelona, despite the player’s own desire to join the Catalan club. This information, sourced from the publication SPORT, comes from anonymous insiders familiar with the discussions.
The negotiations concerning Alvarez’s potential departure from the Metropolitano Stadium have been paused for the moment. This delay is expected to last until after he completes his commitments with Argentina in the World Cup.
With Robert Lewandowski’s departure looming as his contract is set to expire on June 30, FC Barcelona has identified Alvarez as their prime candidate to take over the coveted number 9 jersey at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Reports from Argentina indicate that Alvarez has already agreed to terms with Barcelona on a five-year contract. This agreement aligns with Barcelona’s ambitions, but they might need to enhance their initial offer to satisfy Atletico Madrid’s demands.
Barcelona made a significant move by submitting a $116 million bid for Alvarez. This happened simultaneously with the announcement of Anthony Gordon’s signing. However, it’s speculated that this amount might need to be increased substantially to convince Atletico Madrid to release their talented forward.
Barcelona reportedly lodged a $116 million bid for Alvarez on the same day it announced Anthony Gordon. Yet it’s believed that this will have to be upped considerably for Atleti to budge.
Atletico Madrid don’t want to sell Alvarez to FC Barcelona
At the turn of the week, Atleti President Enrique Cerezo issued a hands-off warning by saying “Julian Alvarez is an Atletico Madrid player, not just for this past season, but for many others.”
According to SPORT, though, there is tension in the Spanish capital because Alvarez wants to join Barça but the Rojiblancos only want to sell him to Paris Saint-Germain.
Atleti and back-to-back Champions League winner PSG are said to be “on the same page”. We’ve already seen reports of the two clubs having an agreement to wait for formal negotiations to take place, until after Luis Enrique’s men beat Arsenal in Budapest at the weekend to reign Europe once more.
The only obstacle standing in the way of selling to PSG, and not Barça, is Atleti’s asking price of $175 million (€150 million euros).
While that’s pocket change for the Qatari-backed Ligue 1 behemoth, it’d also be hard for the Blaugrana to raise in times of trying to return to the 1:1 rule – at least not without a number of player sales.
PSG find that price too high but could bring it down by offering one of their players to Atletico.
Ultimately, though, it is Alvarez that must decide where he wants to go. He might have to force his exit to Barcelona, by refusing to negotiate with the Parisians.
