In demand, 🇦🇷 striker has offers near R$ 1 BILLION 💰 | OneFootball

Julián Álvarez finally broke his World Cup duck at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and he did it with an absolute STUNNER that helped Argentina qualify for the semifinals.

After a quiet start to the tournament — during which he even lost his starting spot to Lautaro Martínez — the Atlético Madrid forward shone by curling one into goalkeeper Kobel’s top corner in the second half of extra time, sealing a 3-1 win over Switzerland in the quarterfinals.

This standout performance comes at the heart of a real battle among European giants for his signature.

The 26-year-old recently turned down a contract renewal offer from Atleti (worth around R$ 58.5 million per season) and made it clear that he wants a new challenge.

An almost billion-dollar battle

Atlético Madrid is protecting itself with an exorbitant release clause: 500 million euros (around R$ 3 billion).

However, the market knows that a transfer is inevitable. 

Here is the situation for each interested club:

🇪🇸 Real Madrid

The rival from the Spanish capital has already tested the waters with a formal offer of 150 million euros (around R$ 900 million), which Atlético rejected.

Experts in the Spanish press, such as journalist Álex Pintanel, believe Real’s move was more of a tactic to drive up the price and disrupt Barcelona than a genuine attempt to sign him, especially since it came during the club’s election period.

🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain

Even before the World Cup, the French club was already preparing an offer between 140 million and 150 million euros.

The good institutional relationship between the PSG and Atlético boards is seen as an advantage that could help facilitate the deal.

🇪🇸 Barcelona

This is the player’s preferred destination. Julián has already publicly stated that he wants to play for the Catalan club to "fulfill his dream."

Barça, which sees the Argentine as the natural successor to Robert Lewandowski, plans to formalize a bid between 120 million and 130 million euros (around R$ 720 million to R$ 780 million), betting that the player’s desire will weigh heavily in Atlético’s board’s final decision.

While his club future remains undecided, Julián Álvarez is focused on the Argentina national team.

The next challenge is the highly anticipated global showdown against England in the World Cup semifinals.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 ODD ANDERSEN - AFP or licensors