Details have emerged of a supposed late effort by Manchester City to scupper Arsenal's hunt for Julian Alvarez ahead of deadline day
Julian Alvarez of Atletico de Madrid trains during a session at the Atletico de Madrid Training Complex in Madrid, Spain, on September 1, 2026.
Manchester City reportedly tried to sign Julian Alvarez late in the transfer window(Image: Alberto Gardin/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Manchester City tried to hijack Arsenal’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez with a £128million offer last week, according to reports in Spain. One of the biggest and most drawn-out transfer sagas reached its anti-climactic conclusion on Tuesday as Alvarez opted to stay at Atletico Madrid.
Over the course of the summer, the 26-year-old striker had repeatedly stated his desire to leave Atletico in favour of Barcelona, who had been working behind the scenes to sign him. However, despite Alvarez’s best efforts, Atleti blocked his dream move, refusing to let their talisman join a direct La Liga rival.
They were, however, reluctantly open to selling him abroad as an alternative after it became very clear the forward had no desire to stay at the Metropolitano Stadium for another season. Reports indicated that Arsenal were heavy favourites to land Alvarez if he was willing to settle for a move to north London, after failing to secure one to Catalonia.
But the 2022 World Cup winner did not want to move back to England, having played for City between 2022 and 2024. He will remain at Atletico, at least until January, despite months of wrangling with the club.
Yet, it has now been claimed that City sought to hijack their Premier League rivals Arsenal in the final days of the summer window by reaching out to Alvarez’s team in an effort to bring him back to the Etihad.
The Athletic reports that a mini-saga played out ahead of deadline day, when several sources familiar with Alvarez’s situation indicated that City monitored developments last week to see whether a return was possible. City are claimed to have made an ambitious enquiry while they were pursuing Cody Gakpo and Iliman Ndiaye, who they eventually signed.
However, they did not receive any encouragement and pulled back. City themselves deny that they made an approach to the striker’s camp.
Julian Alvarez.
Julian Alvarez did not want to return to City despite his huge success there(Image: Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images)
View 2 Images
Meanwhile, Radio Marca went further by saying the Premier League transfer record-equalling sum City spent on Enzo Fernandez on deadline day was first used for Alvarez. The Spanish outlet claimed a €150m (£129m) offer was made to Atletico - the figure widely reported to be their asking price.
That indicates a serious pursuit of the Argentine by City while many assumed Arsenal were the only team in the race for his signature. However, Alvarez is said to have turned down the offer by not even responding.
It is believed that his decision was as a result of either lifestyle preferences or documentation issues, which would have made it difficult for his family members to follow him to England. Alvarez famously won the Treble in his second season in Manchester.