Barcelona top target banking on Atletico Madrid’s €100 million promise – report | OneFootball

Julian Alvarez’s transfer saga has been the hottest topic in the transfer market this summer, as the forward continues to be on the radar of Barcelona.

Alvarez has handed in a transfer request at Atletico Madrid, but the Spanish giants maintain that any interested party will have to pay his €500 million release clause as they do not intend to sell him.

Alvarez banking on a €100m promise

According to SPORT, Alvarez is operating under the belief that Atletico made him a clear commitment: if an offer of €100 million arrives, the club would facilitate his departure.

Alvarez in action for Argentina against Cabo Verde. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

His statements after the Argentina game, in which he openly hinted at his desire to leave, were not an improvisation or a moment of frustration.

Instead, they were a calculated tactic designed to keep Barcelona’s interest alive and to force Atletico into honouring their end of the supposed agreement.

By going public, Alvarez placed the ball firmly in Atletico’s court and made clear that his desire to move was far more than a simple market rumour. Barcelona, for their part, benefited enormously from the gesture.

The club needed the player to make a public stand in order to have any chance of breaking down Atletico’s resistance, and without it, the operation risked fading away entirely.

Atletico raise the stakes

Alvarez hasn’t had a great World Cup campaign so far

. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

However, Atletico have responded by hardening their stance. CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has used Real Madrid’s alleged interest to raise the asking price, with the club insisting his release clause be paid rather than the €100 million figure Alvarez believes he was promised.

Gil Marin is aware of Barcelona’s financial limitations and has even suggested publicly that the Catalan club cannot cope with this operation.

Barcelona’s initial offer has been in the region of €90 million plus variables, with the intention of structuring the payment in instalments. Atletico do not consider it sufficient.