Atletico CEO insists no fee will prise Julian Alvarez away, leaving Man City windfall in doubt

Atletico Madrid have drawn a firm line under Julian Alvarez’s future, with CEO Miguel Angel Gil insisting the club will not sell the Argentine striker regardless of the fee offered, complicating any transfer windfall Manchester City had hoped to receive.

Gil made the statement directly to club media, naming Barcelona president Joan Laporta in the process. “I have no doubt that Atlético is the place in the world for Julián and that Julián is the perfect striker for Atlético de Madrid,” Gil said. “We don’t want to transfer him; we won’t accept the €100m offer, nor will we accept one for €150m or €200m.”

The declaration matters for City because of a clause inserted into the 2023 deal that took Alvarez to the Wanda Metropolitano. The Premier League club retained 10 per cent of any future profit on the sale, meaning a £120m deal would return roughly £4m to the Etihad, while a £160m transfer would yield around £8m. At the £170m threshold Gil publicly dismissed, City’s share would be in the region of £9m.

Alvarez joined Atletico in a club-record deal that has since risen to more than £81m with add-ons, and his value has continued to climb. The 26-year-old has been a consistent performer in La Liga and remains central to Argentina’s international ambitions, with the reigning world champions one game away from winning back-to-back World Cups at the 2026 tournament.

Arsenal and Barcelona have both been linked with a move for the striker, and Alvarez himself has reportedly indicated a preference for leaving Madrid. But Gil’s comments suggest Atletico intend to outlast any interested party, banking on the player’s contractual situation and the club’s public stance to deter formal bids.

For City, the outcome remains binary: either a significant club triggers a fee large enough to generate a meaningful sell-on payment, or Alvarez stays put and the clause yields nothing. Gil’s intervention suggests the latter is the more likely scenario heading into the summer window.