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Atletico Madrid blast Alvarez 'lies' after €100m transfer offer

Updated: 29 May 2026 15:01 BST | 4 min read

Julian Alvarez Arsenal Barcelona

Atletico Madrid have brandished reports of Barcelona making a bid for Julian Alvarez as ‘another lie’, with tensions flaring over the transfer saga.

Fabrizio Romano claimed on Friday morning that an official proposal worth €100 million had been submitted by Barcelona" href="https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/es-primera-division/2026/05/barcelona-transfer-news-julian-alvarez-atletico-madrid-fabrizio-romano-100m-opening-offer-summer-2026" target="_blank">Fabrizio Romano claimed on Friday morning that an official proposal worth €100 million had been submitted by Barcelona after Alvarez had allegedly asked Atletico to leave the club.

However, Atletico have responded furiously to the speculation with a statement accusing Alvarez’s agents of a ‘pre-arranged campaign’ aimed at destabilising the club, although they insisted the player was not to blame for the issue.

"We are tired of months of lies, half-truths, harassment of our players in mixed zones, and absurd questions that are part of a pre-arranged campaign,” Atletico told MARCA" href="https://www.marca.com/futbol/atletico/2026/05/29/atletico-desmiente-haya-recibido-oferta-barcelona-julian-mentira.html" target="_blank">MARCA. “It's all the work of agents.”

“Julián has behaved impeccably at all times, giving his all on the pitch and demonstrating maximum professionalism. We know that he didn't cause all this noise; he has always behaved perfectly,"

Atletico have continued to insist that Alvarez is not for sale and that, even if an offer were to arrive, it would not be considered, with the La Liga giants continuing to grow frustrated over the leaks by Barcelona and the player’s representatives.

Atletico furious with Barcelona approach for Alvarez as Romano provides new update

Alvarez is considered Barcelona’s top target after the impending arrival of Anthony Gordon, who has travelled from Newcastle to finalise his €80m move." href="https://www.footballtransfers.com/en/transfer-news/uk-premier-league/2026/05/fc-barcelona-anthony-gordon-bid-newcastle" target="_blank">who has travelled from Newcastle to finalise his €80m move.

Julian Alvarez is wanted by Barcelona.

Barcelona are pushing hard for Alvarez and formal proceedings are understood to have begun despite Atletico’s denial of a bid, with Romano insisting that intermediaries are handling the deal due to the tensions between both clubs.

“Barca have started the official conversation,” Romano said on YouTube" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyNeQDj_bKY" target="_blank">YouTube on Friday. “It is involving intermediaries; the player's agent is also into it. Intermediaries are heavily involved, so Barcelona are working hard on this one.

“Atlético Madrid, on their side, are very annoyed and not happy at all with Barcelona's behaviour in going all-in and having this story become so public in the media. The relationship between the two clubs is quite tense, which is why there are intermediaries taking care of the deal.

“The internal information from Atlético Madrid is that they are not going to accept €100m. They are not closing the deal for €100 million, so eventually, an extra effort will be needed from Barcelona. That is the situation as of today.

“The player has indicated to Atlético Madrid that he wants to leave, but for Atleti, €100 million is not going to be enough to close the Julián Álvarez deal. Eventually, it has to be more."