Álvarez opens to Arsenal move as Barcelona's €100m bid leaves Atlético unmoved

Julián Álvarez is weighing up a move to Arsenal for the first time, according to Marca’s David Medina, after the Argentina striker’s hopes of joining Barcelona this summer effectively collapsed and Atlético Madrid made clear they will not sell him to the Catalan club at any price.

The report stops well short of a done deal. Medina describes a striker whose position has shifted rather than a transfer that has been agreed, and stresses that any Arsenal move remains conditional on Álvarez personally approving it before the window shuts next Tuesday.

How the Barcelona pursuit unravelled

Álvarez had been led to believe a Camp Nou move was possible this summer, with his agent Fernando Hidalgo’s assurances about Barcelona’s interest gradually going quiet. The situation came to a head around Atlético’s match against Villarreal, when his family broke from their usual habit of attending games and did not show up at the stadium. Álvarez then left the pitch before his teammates reached the dressing room — a decision manager Diego Simeone confirmed at his post-match press conference was taken to protect the player from the Frente Atlético ultras.

That flashpoint appears to have accelerated the saga toward its current stage. Álvarez missed Atlético’s Wednesday training session ahead of the trip to Sevilla; club sources told Marca he had been ill overnight, though the report frames the absence against the backdrop of the ongoing transfer drama.

Atlético’s position and the reported fee

Atlético publicly rejected a €100m bid from Barcelona three months ago. Medina speculates, based on his own reading of the situation, that Atlético and Arsenal have had the basic framework of a deal in place for some time, with a fee in the region of €150m and Arsenal’s incentive package potentially bridging much of that gap. That figure is the reporter’s own assessment rather than a confirmed sum agreed between the clubs. A sale anywhere near that level would represent a club-record outgoing transfer for Atlético.

Atlético’s stance on Barcelona was unambiguous: the club stated there is a zero percent chance of selling Álvarez to them, framing the refusal as a matter of institutional dignity rather than money. Barcelona president Joan Laporta responded by reaffirming his club’s interest while confirming there would be no second offer beyond the €100m bid already rejected.

Arsenal’s position

Arsenal have targeted Álvarez for more than a year and stepped up their pursuit as the Barcelona-Atlético impasse dragged on. Mikel Arteta and sporting director Andrea Berta have reportedly worked behind the scenes, with Atlético’s Mateu Alemany in London last week and thought to have met Arsenal representatives.

For any deal to materialise before Tuesday’s deadline, Álvarez would first need to sanction the move himself — a step that, according to Medina’s report, has not yet been taken.