Diego Simeone’s Atlético de Madrid has told Barcelona it does not want to sell Julián Álvarez after turning down an offer of about 100 million euros. Barcelona still believes it can register the forward under LaLiga’s 1:1 fair play rule, but the transfer now depends on talks, not just salary room.
Julián Álvarez and Fernando Hidalgo
Barcelona had already told Julián Álvarez and his representative Fernando Hidalgo that it would have no problem registering the Argentine forward in LaLiga. The club’s calculation rests on the money freed by Lewandowski’s salary, which it says is enough to register Gordon and still leave room over.
Barcelona also thinks the remaining savings from Ansu, Christensen and other players who have not yet left, such as Ter Stegen or Marc Casadó, should be enough to register him if the fee is not excessive. That is the practical part of the deal: the registration arithmetic looks manageable to Barça, but the price still has to be accepted by Atlético de Madrid.
Joan Laporta on Wednesday
On Wednesday, Joan Laporta said Barcelona had spoken with Atlético de Madrid representatives and that Deco had sent an offer they rejected. He added that the negotiation continued and that Barcelona believed it now had the upper hand after Julián’s own comments. Laporta had already said after taking office: “Podemos afrontar cualquier operación con una lógica deportiva y económica”.
Julián said after Argentina beat Austria in the Mundial that “lo mejor para todas las partes era un traspaso” and that he hoped “que esperaba que le dejasen cumplir su sueño”. Those remarks explain why Barcelona believes the door is open, even if Atlético has already closed it on a first bid.
After the Mundial
Barcelona’s plan is to wait until the Mundial ends before making its next move. After that, it will decide whether to raise the offer or withdraw it and pursue another player. Barça still expects Julián Álvarez to end up wearing blue and garnet, but the current answer from Atlético is firm enough to force the next step onto the club’s side.
