Atlético Madrid have gone to the extreme of offering Julián Álvarez to Arsenal in the hope of keeping him away from Barcelona.
Sport report that while Álvarez has made it clear that he wants to leave this summer, Atlético aren’t playing ball with the 26-year-old.
Arsenal offer rejected
The newspaper explains that the Argentine striker is desperate to join Barcelona this summer. His comments this week, making it clear that a transfer is the best option, were an effort to push that dream along.
But Atlético are not keen on selling their star player to a club in the same league. They do not have a good relationship with Barcelona, as demonstrated by their publication of several sarcastic tweets about a Barcelona offer.
They are even considering lodging a complaint with FIFA over contact between Barcelona and Álvarez’s agents.
They’re equally uninterested in selling him to Real Madrid. According to sources in Madrid, Atlético intend to speak to the player and make it clear that if he wants to leave, he may do so, but not to Barcelona.
That is why they have taken the steps of offering to Arsenal instead. According to Sport’s information, they considered a swap deal with Arsenal worth €60m plus Viktor Gyökeres.
Arsenal pull away
That, proposal, though, was completely shot down by Álvarez. Arsenal learned of that refusal and him completely ruling out the deal. As a result, they then ruled out the deal themselves.
Paris Saint-Germain may now be their best option. The Champions League holders are also interested, particularly if Gonçalo Ramos departs. The French giants are yet to make a formal offer for the striker, though.
The big problem is Julián Álvarez. He only wants to play in La Liga and dreams of playing for Barcelona. He does not want to return to the Premier League after his time at Manchester City.
That’s seen him turn down Arsenal already, despite Atlético Madrid offering the striker to the Gunners this summer.