Joan Laporta breaks silence on Julian Alvarez pursuit – “He has wanted to come to Barcelona for a long time” | OneFootball

For the first time since the saga started, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has made direct reference to the club’s pursuit of Julian Alvarez. The Catalans are determined to sign the Argentine to be their new starting striker, although they are currently being repelled by Atletico Madrid, who do not want to sell to a direct rival.

Laporta addressed the matter after being sworn in as Barcelona president for a fourth time on Wednesday. As per MD, he opened up on the details of the operation, which is being led by sporting director Deco.

“I have spoken personally with Atlético Madrid and I made it clear what was there. Deco made an offer of a certain amount for this player. We know that the player has wanted to come to Barça for a long time, since before he was at Manchester City.

“We made this offer with all due respect for Atletico; they have all my respect, both (Enrique) Cerezo and (Miguel Angel) Gil Marín. They had the offer and they told us that they did not plan to sell because they had no alternative, and I told them that if they had an alternative, the offer was firm. We will keep it firm for as long as we consider, but we will not be at the expense of what Atletico may decide on this issue. They know what our will is, and if they want to do it, we would be delighted. They deserve the utmost respect and we have good relations both on an institutional level and on a personal level as well.”

Laporta dismisses Atleti complaints – “We have not forced this”

In the last seven days, Atleti have accused Barcelona of pressuring and harassing Alvarez, which led to them filing an formal complaint with FIFA and the Spanish Football Federation. Laporta dismissed these allegations wholeheartedly, claiming they have not acted out of the ordinary during negotiations with both player and club.

“Let’s start by saying that we still have the same respect for Atlético as we have always had, which is a lot. The tweets were before Julián said that his dream was to play in a big team; he did not speak at any time about Barça. Some have interpreted that it was Barça and others have not. He expressed the dream or the idea of changing teams. We have not forced this, it was the player. The player has been in Barça’s orbit before signing for Manchester City, he has always been in our orbit. At that time we could not afford the operation. What we have done is to make a club-to-club offer, with light and stenographers. Atletico know about this offer, they have not answered that they are not selling, and we understand that they are not selling because they have no alternative, which is what I was told personally.“

“They did it before Julián’s statements, once they knew Barça’s offer. Atlético’s representatives have a lot of experience in all this. I don’t know what their strategy is about. I respect it, but there you have our offer, and if you want to accept it we will be delighted. It will not be the first operation between Barça and Atletico, there has been more than one and more than ten. Except for some conflicting ones, since my first term in office they have all been agreed and without problem. Is this one perhaps more sensitive? It is very important, we are making an important effort, it is a proposal that we will maintain until we consider that we have to maintain it. I see that Atletico are closing in on the sidelines, and on the one hand I hope that they reconsider and somehow accept this offer, and if they don’t, that they communicate it again and we’ll see what we do.”