Barcelona President willing to sanction major sale in order to bring in preferred forward | OneFootball

Barcelona face Atletico Madrid this evening in a top of the table clash in La Liga, with Julian Alvarez set for a starring role at Camp Nou. The Argentina forward will have admirers at Camp Nou that are not wearing red and white though.

Alvarez has been identified by Barcelona as one of the best options to replace number nine Robert Lewandowski next summer, and is reportedly the preferred option of President Joan Laporta. The Athletic describe it as the ‘dream signing’ for Laporta, while Alvarez’s agent left the door open to a move to Barcelona in the summer.

Laporta willing to make big sale in order to sign Alvarez

Laporta, who has never been shy of pushing the boat out to make a splash in the transfer market, is willing to do so again for Alvarez. Marca report that the Blaugrana chief would explore further asset sales or even a major sale from the Barcelona squad in order to make the move happen.

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Atletico Madrid determined to avoid sale

That said, Atletico Madrid have been determined to shut down any talk of a sale for Alvarez, who they see as the face of the club for the coming years. That includes new Sporting Director Mateu Alemany, who is well-versed with Laporta’s strategies, having last worked at Camp Nou. As such, he intends to offer Alvarez a wage rise in order to keep him happy. Although a new contract has not been offered, there have been initial contacts with his agent.

Atletico Madrid in strong position

Perhaps the most encouraging thing for Atletico and Alemany is Barcelona’s salary limit situation. Their spend last season on wages was more than €150m over their current salary limit, making it likely it will be the case again next summer. Thus being able to spend big under the added restrictions of being over that limit probably make the sort of fee Atletico would demand difficult to pull off, as was seen with the much cheaper Nico Williams this past transfer window. The investment of Apollo in the ownership of the club leaves Los Colchoneros in a strong financial position too.