Joan Laporta has put Barcelona's Julián Alvarez pursuit back on the clock. He said the club still has an offer in place for the Atletico Madrid forward, but it will not stay open indefinitely, with a reasonable deadline set until the end of the month.

Laporta's message

Laporta's wording was direct. "We're still on the table with an offer," he said, adding that Alvarez is a player the manager wants and that Barcelona have already made their move to Atletico. He also made the player-power point clear: "A big club cannot afford to have players who are unhappy."

The strongest line was the deadline itself. "It is not open-ended. We will set a reasonable deadline. I would say until the end of the month," Laporta said. That is the part Barcelona fans will focus on, because it turns a drawn-out chase into something closer to a decision point.

Barcelona's view on Alvarez

Barcelona's internal line has not shifted. They regard Alvarez as the priority target to replace Robert Lewandowski as their marquee number nine, and they believe Hansi Flick wants him while Deco agrees on him as the top choice.

The broader club position is easy to see from the way they are approaching the market. Barcelona finished top of La Liga with 94 points, won four of their last five matches, and are trying to add a forward they clearly rate rather than patch over a crisis.

The fee talk is still messy. Sports Mole reported that Atletico rejected Barcelona's £85m offer, while other reporting has Atletico valuing Alvarez at £111m. One source has also put a €500m release clause into the picture. Barcelona have not confirmed a final figure, and Atletico have not agreed to sell.

Alvarez's own recent workload suggests why Barcelona are so keen. He has 7 World Cup appearances in the sample, playing 529 minutes, with a 6.6 average rating across his last five outings. Atletico, who finished fourth in La Liga with 69 points, have every reason to resist a sale, but Barcelona have now made the timetable public.

Written by Daniel Hartley with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 4 outlets. How we work →