February 16, 2026, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain: Barcelona Spain 16.02.2026 Deco FC Barcelona Sporting director and Bojan Krkic Barcelona Sporting directo looks during the La Liga EA Sports between Girona FC and FC Barcelona at Montilivi on 16 February 2026 in Girona.
Credit Image: © Xavi Urgeles/ZUMA Press Wire
With the summer transfer window reaching its final few weeks, FC Barcelona are still to reach a conclusive stage of their top-priority transfer operation of the summer, i.e., the signing of the Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez.
The last few days have seen some notable developments taking place in this regard. For instance, Deco travelled to Madrid to meet with the Argentine’s agent and devise a joint strategy for his signing. Furthermore, reports also emerged claiming the forward was now planning to talk with his coach, Diego Simeone, to ask him to convince the Colchonero club for his transfer.
Alvarez was expecting to do so once he returned to train with his club team on 13 August. However, he already got Simeone’s response, as the Argentine coach spoke to the press during his side’s preseason tour of Korea, and commented that Atletico Madrid have a clear stance on the matter, which the CEO Gil Marin has already clearly aired, i.e., they will not negotiate for Alvarez’s sale.
However, despite these latest developments, Mundo Deportivo reports that Barcelona’s own plans about the Argentine star also remain unchanged, and he remains the number one target for the striker position, both for Hansi Flick and Deco.
Anyway, the next week is going to be crucial in this operation, as the forward will return to training, and ask Simeone for a transfer. For the Blaugranes, it will be essential that Atletico Madrid agree to negotiate for their star forward’s sale, as with his €500 million release clause, it would be impossible to get him without his club’s nod.
Meanwhile, Barcelona are also expected to finalize Ferran Torres’ sale in the coming few days, and with his departure, their need for a new center-forward will gain significantly greater urgency, and it remains to be seen what next steps they will take for Julian Alvarez’s signing.