Barcelona retain an interest in signing Julian Alvarez this summer despite a dramatic swoop from Real Madrid, who saw a €150 million bid rejected by Atletico Madrid on Tuesday.
The Catalan club have been exploring the conditions of a potential move for the Argentina international amid growing belief that Alvarez would be open to joining them if a deal ever became possible.
However, the race took an unexpected turn when Real Madrid suddenly entered the picture.
Sources indicate Florentino Perez turned to Alvarez only after Bayern Munich completely ruled out any possibility of selling Michael Olise, who had been Madrid’s preferred attacking target and one of the marquee names discussed internally ahead of Perez’s re-election.
With the door firmly closed by Bayern, Madrid switched their attention to Alvarez and tested Atletico‘s resolve with a €150m offer. The proposal was immediately rejected.
Atletico have no intention of selling one of their star players to their city rivals and remain determined to keep Alvarez at the club. Their stance mirrors Bayern’s position on Olise, with neither club willing to entertain offers from Real Madrid for one of their most important attacking players.
There are differing interpretations of Madrid’s approach. Some sources believe the bid was a genuine attempt to land Alvarez following the failure to make progress on Olise. Others suggest the move was always unlikely to succeed and instead served as a statement of intent that Madrid are prepared to spend heavily under Jose Mourinho.
