Upon winning reelection as Real Madrid president by a slimmer-than-expected margin, Florentino Pérez promised fans that on Tuesday he would submit a bid for a galáctico he valued at €150 million.
Despite rumors linking Madrid to Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise and Paris Saint-Germain duo Vitinha and João Neves, that €150 million player turned out to be none other than Julián Álvarez — who was the subject of a formal offer that Atlético de Madrid quickly rejected.
“Real Madrid C.F. announced today that,
following a board meeting, the club submitted a €150 million offer to Club Atlético de Madrid for the federative rights to player Julián Álvarez,” Real Madrid’s statement read. “Club Atlético de Madrid, after reviewing and evaluating the proposal, expressed gratitude for the offer, noting the positive relationship between the two clubs, but ultimately rejected it, citing the player’s release clause.”
Real Madrid’s offer for Alvarez is the seeming fulfillment of Pérez’s campaign promise and the latest evidence of the 79-year-old president’s fixation on Atlético. It is also the latest twist in the summer transfer saga swirling around the player, who is under contract to 2030. Alvarez has been the subject of intense interest from FC Barcelona, which has pursued the Argentina star through a duplicitous media campaign for the better part of a year and saw a €100 million bid for him rejected on May 29.
Atlético’s rejection of this offer — which would have been the third-largest transfer in the history of football — reinforces the club’s stance that Alvarez is not for sale within Spain. At this point, he might as well be off the market entirely. Madrid’s bid did Atlético a favor in that it served to reset the market on the 26-year-old, and Atleti’s swift dismissal of said bid shows that the club will continue to refer suitors to the player’s €500 million release clause.
In private, Alvarez reportedly has professed a desire to join Barcelona, but the forward at this time is unwilling to make a public push to join the Spanish champions. Unless and until that changes, the story of Alvarez transferring out of Atlético this summer ends here.
