Real Madrid: Romano reveals Galactico ‘bluff’ as €220m bid prepared for ‘dream’ real target | OneFootball

Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Real Madrid were never really interested in Ateltico Madrid star Julian Alvarez and their €150m offer was a ‘bluff’ as they prepare a €220m bid for the real ‘Galactico’ target.

After Perez vowed to make a mammoth bid for a new ‘Galactico’ as part of his presidential campaign, following his election victory, Real Madrid confirmed they had had a bid rejected by Atletico for Alvarez.

: ‘Real Madrid C. F. announces that, following the meeting of the Board of Directors held today, it has made an offer of 150 million euros to Club Atletico de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julian Alvarez.

‘After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Club Atletico de Madrid has expressed its gratitude for the proposal, made within the framework of the good relations between both clubs, and has rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.’

Alvarez’s release clause is understood to be worth a ridiculous 500 million euros, but journalist Ben Jacobs later claimed he could leave Atletico Madrid in a cut-price deal.

Jacobs claimed: ’26-year-old Alvarez remains contracted until 2030 leaving Atleti in a strong position, but club CEO Miguel Ángel Gil and former sporting director Andrea Berta put in provisions for Alvarez to leave for a lower number than his official release clause when he joined from Manchester City in 2024.’

But as it turns out, the Real Madrid bid for Alvarez was a ‘bluff’ as they prepared to launch a bid for their real target, Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise, according to Fabrizio Romano.

He said (via @iMiaSanMia): ‘The ‘galáctico’ Florentino Pérez spoke about was and has always been Michael Olise. The name of the Frenchman has been mentioned in Real Madrid meetings these days and weeks. Olise remains the dream of Real Madrid. Bayern’s stance remains: they don’t want to sell the player and are prepared to offer him a contract on very big numbers.

‘The feeling is that the Julián Alvarez interest and ‘bid’ by Real Madrid was a bluff. They didn’t bid for Olise after Herbert Hainer’s statements because they knew that €150m was never going to be enough. Olise is now completely focused on the World Cup with France. We’ll understand more after that, with Bayern’s position unchanged.’

€220m bid incoming?

Bayern president Hainer insisted that the Bundesliga club won’t listen to any offers for Olise.

Hainer recently told Bild: “Michael Olise is a Bayern Munich player who still has a long-term contract – and we are not a club that sells players. If Florentino Perez wants to send us an offer – which hasn’t happened yet – he can save himself the trouble.”

But Marca report that resolve looks set to be tested, as Real Madrid are preparing to launch a bid of up to €220m for the former Crystal Palace winger.

The report states: ‘Madrid still have those €150 million ready, but prying Olise away from Bayern could cost significantly more. In fact, the club could push the bid beyond €200 million, potentially up to €220 million.