Barcelona intensifies pursuit of Julian Alvarez as Laporta takes charge

FC Barcelona have turned their chase of Julian Alvarez into the defining transfer battle of their summer – and they are not walking away yet.

The Catalan club have already seen an offer of around €100 million, including add-ons, rejected by Atletico Madrid, but the proposal has not been withdrawn. It remains on the table, and crucially, it comes with an expiry date: the end of this month.

Barcelona know the clock is ticking. They also know their first bid is not enough.

Barça ready to go higher

According to journalist Santi Ovalle on Cadena SER, Barcelona are prepared to push their offer up towards €130 million to try to break Atletico’s resistance. The structure is key.

The fixed fee would stay at the current level, with the increase coming largely through add-ons, while the €100 million package already proposed is understood to be spread across six instalments.

The idea is clear: unlock a negotiation that Atletico have so far refused to entertain, without compromising Barcelona’s fragile financial balance in one hit.

Laporta steps into the front line

The standoff has forced a change of strategy inside Barça’s hierarchy.

President Joan Laporta has personally taken charge of talks with Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin after an earlier formal offer, sent by Barcelona sporting director Deco, went nowhere.

Atletico’s sporting director Mateu Alemany is reported to have no working relationship with Deco, and the proposal from the Barcelona executive was effectively sidelined before it ever reached the key decision-makers in Madrid.

So Laporta has stepped in. This is now an executive-level negotiation, president to CEO, with Barcelona determined not to let internal politics between sporting directors kill their biggest transfer plan of the summer.

Atletico dig in

On the other side of the table, Atletico’s stance has not moved.

Sources at the club continue to insist they will not negotiate Alvarez’s sale to Barcelona. That line has held all summer, even as the Argentine forward has publicly stated his desire to leave.

Diego Simeone’s message has been just as firm. Alvarez has been instructed to report for pre-season on August 10, a clear signal that Atletico are planning with him until someone forces their hand with an irresistible offer – or the player escalates his position.

Barcelona, aware of the power of public pressure in modern football, are quietly hoping for another clear gesture from Alvarez to increase the heat on Atletico’s board.

Flick’s plan, and a thin market

Behind all of this sits Hansi Flick’s sporting plan.

Barcelona see Alvarez as the ideal fit for the profile their new coach wants at centre-forward – mobility, work rate, technical quality, and the ability to knit attacks together as well as finish them. Inside the club, there is a strong belief that very few players on the market can match that blend.

That is why, even as they monitor alternative options, Alvarez remains the priority. The list of genuine Plan B candidates is short, and none convinces to the same degree.

So Barcelona push on, their improved offer being prepared, their president now front and centre, their timeline shrinking. Atletico remain unmoved, the player caught in the middle.

Something has to give. The only question is whether it will be the fee, Atletico’s resolve, or Barcelona’s patience.