Barcelona asked to pause pursuit of priority target who wants to focus on the World Cup | OneFootball

According to an exclusive report from The Touchline, Julian Alvarez’s representatives have asked Barcelona to temporarily ease their efforts to sign him because the player wants to avoid any distractions before the World Cup.

The development comes at a crucial stage since Barcelona view Alvarez as one of their priority attacking targets and have already taken concrete steps in an attempt to bring him to Camp Nou. 

However, despite growing speculation surrounding his future, the striker’s attention remains fixed on international duty.

This is why, for now, the message from Alvarez’s camp is that while his future is of extreme importance, transfer talks will only happen after the World Cup.

Barcelona forced to play waiting game

As reported before, Barcelona have already submitted an offer worth €100 million to Atletico Madrid in an effort to open negotiations for the Argentine international.

The proposal was sent directly to Atletico sporting director Mateu Alemany, but the Madrid-based club have yet to issue an official response.

At the same time, while Barcelona’s interest is well known, Paris Saint-Germain are also monitoring developments closely. 

However, it is known that Alvarez has already indicated through his representatives that the Ligue 1 side is not currently his preferred destination.

Instead, the player appears willing to wait and assess how events unfold between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid once the World Cup is out of the way.

Interestingly, there is a growing belief within Alvarez’s camp that Atletico will eventually sit down and discuss a potential transfer. 

Alvarez wants to focus on the World Cup. (Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images)

As a result, neither the player nor his representatives want unnecessary pressure or public negotiations dominating the build-up to one of the biggest tournaments of his career.

Barcelona have reasons to be confident

Although the latest update slows the pace of negotiations, it does not necessarily weaken Barcelona’s position.

In fact, the request to pause discussions appears to be driven more by the player’s focus than by any lack of interest in the project being presented by the Catalan club. 

For now, what is known is that Barcelona are prepared to invest heavily in Alvarez. 

However, any movement is unlikely to happen before the World Cup concludes, and until then, Alvarez wants his focus to remain solely on Argentina.