Atletico Madrid planning to sign Barcelona star on free transfer | OneFootball

This summer, institutional relations between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have strained as part of the Julian Alvarez saga. The Catalan club’s attempts to sign the Argentine striker have not gone down well at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano, and until today, they continue to insist that they will not sell to a direct rival in La Liga.

While Atleti are continuing to block Barcelona’s move for Alvarez, they have also started making moves towards signing a prominent player from the Spotify Camp Nou. In recent weeks, their interest in Ferran Torres has become public knowledge, and they are preparing to act on this – not for this summer, but rather, for 2027 instead.

Torres is out of contract at Barcelona at the end of next season, and at this stage, he has reservations about signing a new deal. Atleti sense a market opportunity, and as per Victor Malo (via BarcaCentre), they are planning to convince the 26-year-old to run down his contract before signing for him next summer.

Atleti sporting director Mateu Alemany, who previously held the same position at Barcelona, is the one driving a move for Torres, and he is reportedly willing to offer a €20m signing bonus to ensure that the world champions joins Diego Simeone’s squad.

Paris Saint-Germain could pip Atleti to Torres signing

Barcelona do not want to sell Torres, and their plan is to open contract talks once the summer transfer window closes. However, they will be forced to sell if the player signals his intention to leave, at which point a move to Paris Saint-Germain would be much more likely than one to Atleti.

PSG are very keen on Torres, whom they want to replace AC Milan-bound Goncalo Ramos. They are currently waiting to receive the green light from him, but if they do, a move to Paris would be on the cards, much to Atleti’s frustration.