Atletico Madrid reach decision on selling Julian Alvarez to Arsenal for £130m | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid now value Julian Alvarez at £130m and with Arsenal holding talks over the record-breaking deal, a report has revealed Atleti’s decision on whether to keep or sell.

Arsenal believed they’d solved their striker issues when signing Viktor Gyokeres last summer. However, the Swede has proven painfully limited back in England, and in the biggest games, Mikel Arteta favours Kai Havertz.

Gyokeres aged 27 isn’t exactly the long-term answer either. It’s not as if he’ll develop into the striker Arsenal thought they were buying given time.

As such, Arsenal must chalk the Gyokeres deal up as a failure and go again in the market if they’re to give Arteta the final piece of the puzzle up front.

The Gunners are acutely aware Gyokeres has flopped, as evidenced by the fact they’ve held talks with the representatives of Atletico Madrid and Argentina ace Alvarez.

Our insider, Graeme Bailey, has been on top of this story throughout 2026. His latest update – which can be read here – arrived on Wednesday morning, with Bailey noting Barcelona and PSG are providing Arsenal with stiff competition.

Alvarez’s preference if he does leave Atleti is joining Barcelona, though it’s highly unlikely the LaLiga leaders can afford the gigantic asking price.

The latest from Sky Sports states Diego Simeone’s side now value Alvarez at a jaw-dropping £130m. That comes after Simeone publicly confirmed Arsenal are among the clubs looking to sign Alvarez in the summer ahead of the two clubs clashing in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday night.

But per the update form Sky Sports, Arsenal might be wise to admit defeat on Alvarez and ramp up efforts to sign an alternative.

Atletico Madrid will NOT sell Julian Alvarez

They stated Atletico Madrid have no intention of selling Alvarez this summer, and that stance won’t change even if the frontman asks to leave.

The report read: ‘Atletico do not want to sell the Argentina international and – even if he asked to leave – they value him at £130m.’

What’s more, and given Atleti’s not-for-sale stance is clear, it’s claimed Alvarez is increasingly aware there’ll be no transfer this summer.

Sky continued: ‘A source close to the situation has indicated Alvarez’s preference, if he were to leave Atletico, would be joining Barcelona.

‘However, other sources in Spain have cast doubt on whether he has a preference at all given the unlikelihood of a transfer this summer.’

Lyall Thomas, who is the senior football news editor with Sky Sports News, doubled down on those claims when posting on X.

He wrote: “#AtleticoMadrid have no interest in selling £130m Julian Álvarez this summer – despite interest from #Arsenal, #Barcelona and #ParisSaintGermain.”

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TEAMtalk understands Arsenal are NOT giving up, such is their belief Alvarez would be the right striker for Arteta and his quest to get the Gunners back to winning major honours.

Nevertheless, Alvarez’s camp are keen for his future not to turn into a bona fide transfer saga. And if Sky are on the money and Atleti won’t sell, Arsenal, Barcelona and PSG might need to think about alternatives sooner rather than later.

On that front, there is renewed talk Arsenal could go big for Victor Osimhen…