Barcelona’s long-term Lewandowski replacement could cost club €150 million – report | OneFootball

Barcelona’s pursuit of attacking reinforcements has taken an interesting turn, as reports from SPORT reveal that it could cost the Catalan around €150 million to land Atletico Madrid’s Argentine forward Julian Alvarez.

The Blaugrana are already planning for the post-Robert Lewandowski era, with the Polish striker’s contract set to expire in 2026 and no talks of renewal currently taking place.

The club’s sporting department, led by Deco, wants to bring in a player who can be part of the long-term project under Hansi Flick rather than a short-term fix, and Alvarez fits that profile perfectly.

Not an easy operation to execute

Alvarez has quietly risen to prominence since joining Atletico Madrid from Manchester City. His performances have drawn attention across Europe, but the forward has so far remained tight-lipped about his future.

Those close to him, however, have hinted that a move might not be off the table.

According to reports, Barcelona have something to look forward to as those close to the player are not entirely ruling out a Camp Nou switch at some point in his career.

Barcelona are monitoring Julian Alvarez. (Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

This subtle admission from his camp has reportedly encouraged Barcelona, who view Alvarez as a player capable of leading their attack for years to come.

However, they aren’t the only ones interested, as PSG are also monitoring the situation closely.

Difficult finances

Financially, the operation would be far from straightforward. Atletico paid €75 million to Manchester City for his services, and his market valuation has now soared to around €100 million.

His release clause stands at a massive €500 million, but Atletico have already made their stance clear.

According to the outlet, “they would not negotiate for less than €200 million,” though there is a belief that the deal could be struck for around €150 million.

Even so, that figure remains daunting for Barcelona, who are still managing financial constraints.

The only realistic scenario in which the transfer might happen would be if Barça included one or more players in the operation to lower the cash component of the deal.