Atletico Madrid Sporting Director open to cashing in on Julian Alvarez this summer | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez continues to represent a major question mark over their the summer at the Metropolitano. Following his own non-committal statements on his future next season, now reportedly a key figure at Atletico is open to his sale.

Alvarez has been heavily linked with Barcelona over the past year, although of late Paris Saint-Germain have been cast as favourites to sign him. Atletico Madrid for their part have consistently denied that he is for sale, and are willing to give him a wage rise and a new contract if he stays.

Mateu Alemany open to Julian Alvarez sale

As per Cadena SER, Atletico Sporting Director Mateu Alemany is open to the sale of Alvarez this summer. He believes that making a major sale could fund a number of other deals that would allow Los Rojiblancos to improve overall. It is noted that Alvarez has a good relationship with Diego Simeone, but that his agents are behind many of the stories coming out about his future.

Alemany has publicly denied any desire to sell Alvarez, but following meetings with LaLiga, Atletico are now working under the assumption that the arrival of Apollo Sports as their new majority shareholder will not mean any material increase in their transfer budget. Hence Alvarez could be a way of financing a bigger summer.

Barcelona giving up on Julian Alvarez pursuit

Meanwhile the Blaugrana, who made it clear that he was their priority initially, appear to be focusing their efforts elsewhere. As has been reported, Chelsea forward Joao Pedro is their number one priority at the moment, and Onda Cero explain that Barcelona believe a deal for Alvarez is impossible. A consequence of this is that they will make a contract offer to Ferran Torres. They believed he could be used as a makeweight for Alvarez, something that did not impress the former Manchester City forward, but the Blaugrana will now look to extend his deal.

This of course follows the exit of Robert Lewandowski too. Alvarez would have been a different profile of number nine, but it seems if Atletico are to sell him, PSG would be the more logical destination for the World Cup-winner. Los Colchoneros could likely secure a better price and avoid strengthening a rival.