Atletico Madrid remain unchanged in stance on selling Barcelona target Julian Alvarez – Report | OneFootball

FC Barcelona’s hopes of signing Julian Alvarez continue to face a major obstacle, with Atletico Madrid refusing to soften their position over the Argentine striker.

According to AS, Atletico’s stance remains exactly the same following the conclusion of the World Cup: Alvarez is not for sale, and the club have no intention of opening negotiations with Barcelona.

Alvarez has been given time to rest after reaching the World Cup final with Argentina and is expected to return to Atletico training on August 10 alongside the club’s other Argentine and Spanish internationals.

That would leave him only nine days to prepare for Atletico’s opening La Liga fixture against Malaga on August 19.

The Madrid club are treating the situation as normal and expect Alvarez to return to work under Diego Simeone. The Argentine coach continues to count on the forward for the new season.

Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has already publicly insisted that the club will not negotiate over Alvarez, and the latest report suggests nothing has changed behind the scenes.

Barcelona face a difficult decision

Atletico believe Barcelona are already aware that they will not willingly sanction a transfer. Alvarez has a €500 million release clause, giving his club a powerful contractual position.

The report does leave open the possibility that an extraordinary offer from another club could change the situation, but Atletico currently do not expect such a proposal to arrive.

From Barca’s perspective, this increasingly looks like a test of patience.

Alvarez is clearly the club’s preferred option to strengthen the centre-forward position, but there is little Barcelona can do if Atletico completely refuse to negotiate. Paying anything remotely close to the release clause is obviously unrealistic.

The key question is whether the situation changes once Alvarez returns from his holiday.

Barca cannot wait forever with such an important position still unresolved. Unless Alvarez can force a change in Atletico’s stance, Deco may eventually have to decide when persistence becomes counterproductive and move seriously towards an alternative.