FC Barcelona Has ‘0% Chance Of Signing Julian Alvarez’, Says Atletico

Atletico Madrid has told MARCA that FC Barcelona has "0% chance" of signing its top target Julian Alvarez in the current transfer window.

Atletico Madrid has told MARCA that FC Barcelona has "0% chance" of signing its top target Julian Alvarez in the current transfer window.

With Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres both departing to the Chicago Fire and Paris Saint-Germain respectively, the Catalans are currently without a natural number 9 save for teenage rookie Hamza Abdelkarim.

Early June saw reports that Alvarez had agreed to join Barca on a five-year deal, but the two La Liga giants have been unable to finalise anything due to Atleti’s refusal to sit at the negotation table with the champions.

On Wednesday afternoon, Barca President Joan Laporta used the club’s official media channels to speak about Julian, which is a rare step.

“We are very interested in the player. We would like our offer to be accepted, and we do so with all due respect toward Atletico Madrid,” Laporta stated.

Through MARCA, Atletico said that: “The player is being victimized, but the only victim of the Julian case is us,” which is perhaps a nod to the Argentine being booed before and during a home win against Villarreal at the Metropolitano on Sunday.

"They have harmed us economically and socially," Atleti insisted, before adding: “There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca.”

Atletico Madrid claims that this situation “is not about money, it is about dignity”.

“A campaign has been created with many lies and half-truths. The only one who pays for this is Atletico,” it then concluded.

Yet still the same issues remain. Julian clearly doesn’t want to play for Atletico, who he joined from Manchester City in 2024, while the fans obviously don’t want him plying his trade at their club any longer after what we saw at the weekend.

With that in mind, a sale to FC Barcelona is the best solution for all concerned. Atletico Madrid would receive a fee well north of $100 million, and doesn’t have to worry about distractions and its fervent supporters turning the attention away from the rest of the team as 2026/2027 has barely had time to start.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com