We appear to have reached the decisive stage in Barcelona’s pursuit of Julián Álvarez as the club is set to make one last push to try and sign the Atlético Madrid striker.
According to Diario SPORT, sporting director Deco met with Álvarez’s agent in Madrid to design the strategy for what the report calls Barça’s “final attempt”: the club will raise their initial offer of €100 million, and Álvarez will make a second gesture to try and convince Atlético to sell.
Unlike he did during the World Cup, Álvarez
will not go public. The plan is for Julián to meet with Atlético CEO Gil Marín and director of football Mateu Alemany when he returns to training on Monday to once again express his desire to leave Atlético and sign for Barça.
Julián wants to remain professional and not burn bridges on his way out, but he will make a clear request to Atlético’s executives with the hope they will finally agree to negotiate with Barça, who are prepared to raise their initial offer.
Crucially, however, Barça already have a contingency plan in place if Atlético once again refuse to talk: according to the report, Barça have already lined up a Plan B that appears to be at an “advanced” stage, with the club ready to pull the trigger as soon as they decide to walk away from the Álvarez deal.
