Atletico Madrid dig in over Barcelona target as saga continues | OneFootball

For the last several weeks, FC Barcelona have been engaged in the transfer operation involving the Argentine forward Julian Alvarez. The Catalans have identified him as the most suitable option to replace Robert Lewandowski in their squad, while Atletico Madrid are apparently in no mood to part ways with him.

As MARCA has noted, it has been a complete month since Alvarez communicated to the Colchonero club his desire to leave the Blaugrana side, and despite the several episodes that have taken place in this saga, the Madrid side remains committed to its stance of not letting their star forward leave, unless another club activates his €500 million release clause.

During this month, several developments took place in this operation. For instance, there was the alleged telegram from Barcelona, sending a €100 million offer for the Argentine to the Atletico offices. Then, there were the earthquake comments made by Alvarez about his desire to leave the Mattress Makers, after which the Atletico Madrid CEO, Miguel Angel Gil, announced that his club would be taking this matter to FIFA.

Meanwhile, a third party, Real Madrid, further complicated the issue by submitting and publicly acknowledging a bid of €150 million for Alvarez. The Colchoneros believed that this was only a circus act from the Merengues, who had no real intention of signing the player.

These events have only further aggravated the capital club, which now stands firm in its decision not to enter any negotiations for the Argentine, especially with a direct rival like Barcelona. Their resolve has been further strengthened after the Blaugranes have ignored them in almost all of their efforts to land the former Manchester City forward.

For now, this operation has still not concluded, and there might be several most twists and turns before a final conclusion is reached. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid have entrenched their position of not negotiating for Julian Alvarez, and it remains to be seen whether Barcelona would be able to budge them from this stance.