Over the past months, we have covered Arsenal, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in Atlético Madrid’s Julián Alvarez.
On June 3rd, Sport Witness relayed news that Arsenal and PSG are preparing a big move to sign him. The two clubs have the financial means to meet his €150m price.
Earlier this week, the Argentina international publicly expressed his desire to leave the La Liga side this summer.
Since then, the Catalan media are excited about the possibility of his arrival at the Camp Nou. Meanwhile, Arsenal and the Ligue 1 winners are still in the mix.
Diego Simeone’s side have publicly slammed Barcelona for their attempts to sign Julián Alvarez. They even hit out at their La Liga counterpart after he talked about his desire to leave.
The striker has his heart set on joining Barcelona, but Atlético Madrid have other plans. That’s according to Wednesday’s edition of Mundo Deportivo, who claim they are refusing to sell him to Barcelona.
‘There is no option to enter into negotiations with Barcelona, and even less so with the way they have acted. If they want the player, they already know his release clause,’ Los Rojiblancos sources told Mundo.
Atlético want sale to Arsenal or PSG
For now, the Madrid club are counting on his return after the World Cup and aren’t taking any other option into account.
If the player still wants to leave, they will consider selling him to Arsenal or PSG over the Camp Nou side. The latter can only sign him by exercising the €500m clause.
Last summer, Mikel Arteta’s side failed to sign him despite offering €120m. This time, the Madrid club could seek €40-60m fee plus Viktor Gyökeres for Alvarez.
Marca have a ‘confidential’ report explaining why Atlético, if there’s a sale, are prioritising Arsenal and PSG.
They are aware the two clubs are keen and have better financial resources than Barca. The Gunners and Luis Enrique’s side can match the €150m starting price.
The La Liga winners can’t afford to meet this and are trying to lower the price by including their own player[s].
Simeone’s side are refusing to sell him to Barca to avoid strengthening their league rival. This could also result in a backlash from their own supporters. These are sporting, social and financial reasons Atlético don’t want to do business with Hansi Flick’s side.
Alvarez’s sale to Arsenal and PSG would be ‘less painful’ than the Catalan club.
Sport are also reporting the Madrid club are giving Arsenal and PSG priority. However, the Premier League winners have paused their interest after finding out that he only wants to join Barcelona.
Arsenal need to convince player
The Emirates club can only sign the South American if they were to convince him to end his Barcelona dream. Otherwise, a move will never materialise.
The difference in stance between Julián Alvarez and Atlético Madrid is likely to result in a long saga.