Barcelona Intensify Pursuit of Julián Álvarez as Laporta Takes Charge

FC Barcelona have turned their chase of Julián Álvarez into the defining saga of their summer – and they are not walking away yet.

The Catalan club have already seen a proposal worth around €100 million, including add-ons, rejected by Atlético Madrid. That bid, structured across six instalments, remains formally on the table but is only valid until the end of the month.

Atlético have not blinked. Barcelona are preparing to push again.

Barça ready to go higher

According to journalist Santi Ovalle on Cadena SER, Barcelona intend to keep pressing for the Argentine forward and are willing to improve their offer, despite suggestions they had reached their limit.

The plan is clear: keep the fixed fee at its current level but drive the overall package up to around €130 million through additional bonuses. It is an attempt to unlock a negotiation that, from the outside, looks frozen.

Time, though, is a factor. With the current proposal expiring soon, any new offer would mark a fresh escalation in both value and intent.

Laporta takes the controls

The transfer has now moved out of the sporting department and into the presidential office.

Joan Laporta has taken direct charge of talks with Atlético CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín after a breakdown at technical level. Sporting director Mateu Alemany did not respond to the formal proposal submitted by Deco, and, according to the report, Atlético’s sporting director has no working relationship with his Barcelona counterpart.

Deco’s offer, crucially, never climbed the ladder to the top decision-makers at the Wanda Metropolitano. It was set aside.

Laporta has stepped in to change that dynamic, pushing for negotiations to be conducted at executive level, where major deals are actually closed.

Atlético dig in

On the other side of the table, the message from Atlético remains blunt.

Club sources continue to insist they do not want to negotiate Álvarez’s sale to Barcelona. That stance has held all summer, regardless of the player’s public desire to leave.

Diego Simeone and his staff have underlined their position by calling Álvarez back for pre-season on August 10. For them, he is still part of the squad and expected to report as normal.

Barcelona, aware of how much leverage public pressure can create, are quietly hoping for another clear gesture from the South American forward, something that might crank up the tension on Atlético’s hierarchy.

Flick’s profile, limited alternatives

Behind the scenes, Barça are scanning the market. They know they cannot afford to be left without a top-level striker if this chase collapses.

The problem is fit. Within the club, there is a strong belief that very few forwards match the specific profile Hansi Flick wants for his attack. That is why Álvarez sits at the top of their list, and why they are prepared to stretch the deal towards €130 million.

Barcelona have drawn a line under many of their past transfer excesses. This, though, is a calculated gamble on a player they see as central to the next phase of the project.

Now the question is simple: will Atlético’s resolve outlast Barcelona’s determination, or will another decisive move from Laporta finally crack open the door?