Julián Álvarez

Álvarez: Simeone has publicly shut the door, and Arsenal remain the only conceivable buyer

The dossier changed shape in early August. Álvarez publicly asked to leave during the World Cup (a transfer would be "the best outcome" for him and the club, he told ESPN), and Diego Simeone answered at a Seoul press conference that the club had made its decision: he stays. Barcelona, the player's preferred destination, saw roughly €100m waved away without negotiation; Real Madrid had €150m rejected back in June; and Atlético have complained to FIFA and the Spanish federation about an illegal Barça approach. Arsenal are well placed by default, as the only non-Liga club able to fund the deal, but have made no confirmed bid and have leaked nothing. The reported Gyökeres swap remains uncorroborated at top tier. The main lock: the player wants Barcelona.

Latest development

**UPDATE 15/08 — the price becomes prohibitive, Arsenal look elsewhere.** TeamTalk, picked up by Football365 on 14 August, writes that Atlético are now demanding upwards of €200m (£171m), a level that puts the deal out of reach. Álvarez is still described as Arsenal's number one attacking target and has repeated that he wants to leave, but his preference for Barcelona has not changed. It is precisely this deadlock that explains why Victor Osimhen's name has surfaced in the club's internal discussions. Still no Arsenal bid and no confirmed club-to-club contact. **Update 14/08 (evening)**: Sky Sports report Arsenal remain interested despite the player's stated preference for Barcelona. Álvarez is back in Madrid after a delayed return (World Cup), has completed his medical tests and has again told Diego Simeone he wants to leave; Atlético have again said they are not selling. TeamTalk describe Andrea Berta as still in contact with chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, waiting in case the Barcelona route collapses. What is established: the contacts and the player's wish to go. What is not: any Arsenal bid, and the price. **UPDATE July 13**: a significant acceleration. The Independent (relayed by ESPN, Goal, Sports Mole, CaughtOffside, FootballTransfers) reports Arteta has made Álvarez his priority attacking target and that Arsenal want to complete the deal before pre-season begins on July 20. Two factors help the Gunners: PSG have cooled their interest, and Atlético refuse to strengthen Barça or Real (both ruled out). The price gap remains: Arsenal reportedly won't go beyond £90m while Atlético want north of £100m. The player, open to a Premier League return, is nonetheless said to prefer staying in Spain. Chelsea are also mentioned as an emerging suitor. No formal bid or confirmed club-to-club contact at this stage — status raised to FIABLE given the convergence of sources, without a named Ornstein/Romano confirmation yet. **UPDATE July 14**: caution against the hype. Football Insider claim ('sources') an £80m offer 'would be accepted' by Atlético, and several tabloids float a 'record deal' or even a swap involving Gyökeres — but none of these are corroborated by a top-tier source. On the contrary, Romano tempers it: Álvarez's 'dream' remains Barcelona, and his response to approaches from Arsenal and PSG was reportedly 'thanks, but I want Barcelona'. Atlético do refuse to sell to their Spanish rivals, however, which leaves a window for Arsenal if the player opens the door to England. No formal bid nor club-to-club agreement confirmed — status unchanged (FIABLE). **UPDATE July 14 (evening)**: the lead strengthens by elimination more than by progress of its own. Sky Sports (Paper Talk) record that Arsenal are switching their focus to the Argentine 'with Barcola unavailable', PSG having definitively shut the door on their winger. Álvarez thus becomes the No. 1 attacking target by default as much as by choice. But the obstacle is growing: Atlético are said to insist he won't leave 'for a cent less' than his €500m release clause — a figure obviously out of reach that mainly reflects a refusal to sell. No formal bid submitted, no club-to-club agreement — status unchanged (FIABLE). **UPDATE July 15**: Sky Sports devote a dedicated piece to the dossier and reset the picture. Arsenal do remain interested and talks have been held with Atlético «at ownership level», with lines of communication open — Berta, formerly Atlético’s sporting director, smooths the contact. But no Arsenal bid is mentioned, and the state of the bidding says plenty: Barcelona have already had an offer of just over £100m rejected (it could rise beyond £110m with add-ons), Real Madrid one at £130m. Atlético simply do not want to sell, the valuation gap is described as «big», and the club would be «more open» to Arsenal or PSG than to Barcelona — relations with the Catalan club are dire — but only if Álvarez himself demands to go. And the Argentine still prefers Barcelona, wants his family to stay in Spain, and won’t turn to his future until his World Cup is over and his holiday taken. Which makes the target of wrapping this up before the July 20 return look out of reach. Status unchanged (FIABLE), score nudged to 70: the sourcing moves up a tier, the probability doesn’t. **UPDATE July 19**: nothing settled, but the gap now has a number. Several Arsenal-focused outlets (NowArsenal, AFTV, July 18) report fresh direct contact between Arsenal's ownership and Atlético, with Arteta still viewing the Argentine as the summer's «transformational» signing. The blocker is financial: Arsenal are said to be reluctant to go beyond £90m while Atlético want well over £100m. Mind the sourcing tier — these are second-rank trackers, not Ornstein or Romano: status unchanged (FIABLE) until a top-tier source confirms the figures. **UPDATE July 20**: the lead takes a concrete but speculative shape. Sky Sports (Paper Talk, July 18) elevate an idea previously confined to the tabloids: Arsenal and Atlético are exploring a swap involving Viktor Gyökeres to cut the cost of a deal blocked by the €500m clause. Goal, Football365 and Yahoo Sports describe «exploratory» talks — no strategy agreed, with Atlético also asking about Nwaneri. Two significant caveats: the swap remains highly hypothetical (it needs every party's agreement), and Gyökeres himself says he is happy in London and waves off any exit. Álvarez, meanwhile, still prefers Barcelona, whose fresh offer of just over £100m has been rebuffed. Status unchanged (FIABLE): the dossier gains in sourcing (Sky) but not in probability. **UPDATE July 20 (evening)**: Romano injects a note of caution. Per him (CaughtOffside, TeamTalk, July 19), Atlético don't want to sell their striker in principle; Arsenal will only truly move if the relationship between Álvarez and the club breaks down and Atlético decide to sell — a scenario he places more likely in August. In other words, the window stays open but conditional, and nothing will happen before the World Cup is over and the player's holiday taken. The refusal to sell to Barça remains Arsenal's edge. Status unchanged (FIABLE). **UPDATE July 22**: a single-source flare-up, to be taken with caution. CaughtOffside (July 21) report «groundbreaking progress» from Arsenal, direct Berta-player talks, an Atlético «ready to approve» a sub-€200m (£170m) deal and a player «open» to a Premier League return. None of it is corroborated by Ornstein or Romano, and it cuts against Romano's cautious take three days earlier (Álvarez prefers Barça, Atlético won't sell before August at the earliest). Treat it as an isolated, unconfirmed signal until a top-tier source validates it. Status unchanged (FIABLE). **UPDATE July 23**: mind how the «Romano hope» is being sold. Fabrizio Romano (CaughtOffside, July 23) does mention Álvarez, but his point is mostly about Barcelona: the Catalan club have «started discussing internally» alternative options in case they can't sign him — a sign of doubt that would open a door for Arsenal, cast as the outsider «waiting in the background». There is no talk of any Gunners bid or advanced negotiation, and the obstacle is unchanged: convincing a player whose preference remains Barcelona. In short, a flicker of context, not progress on Arsenal's deal. Status unchanged (FIABLE). **UPDATE Aug 11**: the dossier has shifted, though not towards progress. During the World Cup, after Argentina beat Austria, Álvarez told ESPN that a transfer would be "the best outcome" for himself and Atlético and that he wanted to fulfil a dream, without naming Barcelona. Diego Simeone answered him publicly at a Seoul press conference ahead of a friendly against Manchester City: "The situation is very clear. The club took a decision which Miguel Ángel explained well," adding that Atlético are happy to have the player and will help him improve. Board and dugout are therefore aligned on refusing to sell. Around it: Barcelona had roughly €100m waved away without the bid being taken seriously, Real Madrid were rejected at €150m in June, and Atlético have filed complaints with FIFA and the Spanish federation accusing Barça of approaching their player without permission. At Arsenal's end, nothing verifiable is new: no confirmed bid, no statement, no top-tier leak. The one thing working in our favour is structural rather than sporting: with Atlético refusing to strengthen a Liga rival, Arsenal are the only club able to fund the fee from outside Spain. The reported swap worth around €50m plus Gyökeres, carried by TNT Sports, Football365 and Yahoo, is confirmed by neither Ornstein, Romano, Sky nor the BBC, and stays in the rumour column. Status lowered to À SURVEILLER (score 62): the sourcing improves a tier with ESPN, but the likelihood of it happening drops markedly, with the player wanting Barcelona and the club having ruled publicly. **UPDATE 19/08 — Simeone repeats himself, and Álvarez sits out the opener.** At a press conference on 18 August, ahead of Atlético's LaLiga opener against Málaga on Wednesday 19th, Diego Simeone confirmed the Argentine would not be available: back late from holiday after the World Cup final, he has only been training for a week. The reason is sporting, not disciplinary — the coach stressed the need for "more sessions" to get him up to speed, while describing him as "one of the best attacking players, if not the best". On the transfer, he repeated that the situation was "perfectly clear" and that he intends to build his team around the striker this season. What is established: Atlético's position has not shifted an inch since Seoul, and it is now being restated by the coaching staff with ten days of the window left. What is not: still no Arsenal bid, no confirmed club-to-club contact, and nobody has denied the player's preference for Barcelona. Worth noting when reading this one: an absence caused by a delayed pre-season is not a player being frozen out — nothing suggests he is being pushed towards the exit. Status and progress unchanged.