Real Madrid will not return with an adjusted proposal for Atlético Madrid striker Julián Álvarez, following the rejection of their massive 150 million euro bid on Tuesday. According to journalist Fabrizio Romano, communications have grown completely cold between Real, Atlético, and those close to the player, leaving the situation in a stalemate.
The suspicion – widely shared by many pundits – was that Florentino Pérez merely orchestrated a public stunt and was not truly serious about signing another
forward with Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior already in the squad. That assessment is looking more and more correct with the latest developments.
FC Barcelona are ready to continue their pursuit of the Argentine forward, after he reportedly completely shut the door on moving to the Santiago Bernabéu when Real finally reached out to his camp. While most agree Los Blancos were not truly serious about buying the forward, there are some questions whether Atléti were in on the scheme or not. The player, for his part, was said to have felt used without ever being clued into the strategy.
Barcelona’s top brass are said to be in a state of calm. They already hold reassurance directly from the player’s camp regarding his commitment to wearing the blaugrana shirt, though they remains wary of massive, competing offers from clubs like Arsenal or Paris Saint-Germain.
The Catalan club recently tabled bid reported to be worth 100 million euro and intends to stand by that framework. They are keeping alternative targets like João Pedro active in the background, but the plan hinges on Álvarez eventually applying pressure on the Metropolitano board.
Atlético must overhaul their squad after losing Antoine Griezmann, and potentially, Alexander Sørloth – who may be heading to Italy. An Álvarez exit would force them to scramble for multiple replacements in a notoriously difficult market.
Álvarez has already asked to isolate himself from negotiations to avoid being distracted by speculation while leading Argentina’s attack in the FIFA World Cup. He intends to avoid public statements throughout the tournament to keep the focus strictly on the national team. But Barcelona remains determined to make him the long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski once the tournament concludes.
