Barcelona’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez has dominated the headlines all summer but looks to end in failure, with Atletico Madrid simply refusing to allow the Argentina international to join their La Liga rivals.
Diario AS say there are three reasons why Atletico are blocking a move for Alvarez and have taken such a dramatic stance in the summer transfer window.
The first is that Atletico believe they simply will not be able to bring in a replacement at the same level or better than Alvarez.
The Argentina
is behind only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland on the list of most valuable No. 9s, per Transfermarkt, and so finding a replacement will be a very difficult indeed.
Added to that, Atletico have also been riled because they feel that Barcelona and Alvarez went behind their back when it came to transfer negotiations.
Los Colchoneros have already filed a complaint to UEFA and claim their striker was “pressured and harassed” by Barcelona throughout the 2025-26 season to move to Camp Nou.
Atletico also don’t want to sell to a direct rival, as Diego Simeone’s side have title and Champions League ambitions, and know that strengthening Barcelona would harm their own hopes of landing silverware this season.
The final reason is said to be that Atletico are still “angry” about the offer they received from Barca. The Catalans offered to pay €100 million over several years which Los Colchoneros believe is “part of a strategy orchestrated between the club and Julián’s agents.”
Atletico feel that Alvarez’s decision to ask for a transfer during the World Cup was designed to lower his price before Barca’s bid, hence why they responded on social media in such a sarcastic manner and then refused to negotiate with the Catalan giants.
