Deco has defended Barcelona's pursuit of Julián Alvarez, saying the club made a formal offer worth around €100 million over three seasons and received no reply from Atletico Madrid. He also denied that Barcelona told Alvarez to publicly push for a move, which keeps the argument focused on conduct rather than just price.
Barcelona's version of events
Speaking to goal.com, Deco said: "We have the information we have. We’ve done things properly."
He added: "We made an offer and received no reply. There’s been more talk about it in the press. We spoke to them respectfully. They told us from the outset that they didn’t want to sell him."
That is the heart of Barcelona's defence. The club say the bid was formal, fair and spread across three seasons, and that Atletico shut the door before talks could go anywhere.
Deco was also clear on the tapping-up point: "Barca did not tell Julian to publicly express his desire to leave Atletico."
Atletico's stance and the wider fallout
Atletico's side remains simple enough, they did not want to sell and refused to negotiate over Alvarez. The player has made just three appearances across all competitions for Atletico so far this season, and his name has not stopped drifting back into the story because reports also say he is considering parting ways with long-term agent Fernando Hidalgo.
Barcelona's need for another striker looks less urgent while their attack keeps producing without him. Raphinha has scored 9 goals this season, and Barcelona have scored seventeen goals in just four games.
That does not settle the transfer talk, but it does change the temperature around it. Barcelona are defending a bid that Atletico would not entertain, while the team they wanted Alvarez to join are scoring freely enough to slow the noise around the chase.
Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 5 outlets. How we work →
