16 May 2026 11:59 BST |
4 min read
Julian Alvarez’s future has become clearer amid the Atletico Madrid striker’s links with a big money move to Arsenal, PSG or Barcelona.
Alvarez is arguably the hottest property on the transfer market as the summer approaches, with the Argentine widely tipped to leave Diego Simeone’s side.
The deal that will take the former Manchester City attacker away from the Wanda Metropolitano could well be one of the biggest in history, with a transfer fee well in excess of €100 million being discussed.
Arsenal and PSG have been left in the driving seat following a decision from Barcelona not to pursue the player at that price point, Sport reports.
Barca hold Alvarez in ‘high regard’ but are not willing to pay the type of money their rivals want for the 26-year-old attacker. It is claimed that a fee of up to €150m is being touted for the player.
Even with Robert Lewandowski looking increasingly likely to leave Camp Nou, the finances involved in this deal do not suit the cash-strapped Blaugrana, who have no desire to make a ‘historic’ signing this summer, the Catalan paper adds.
Julian Alvarez: The state of play
Alvarez is not officially for sale, but Atleti expect action from both Arsenal and PSG with regard to the forward.
If they receive a bid in the region of €150m, they will not be in a position to reject such a bid.
The player, meanwhile, is not actively pushing to leave Madrid either. He has a young family and is said to be happy with the lifestyle that he enjoys in the Spanish capital.
This complicates life for both Arsenal and PSG as they aspire to sign an attacker who has 20 goals and nine assists in 49 games this season.
Is Alvarez really worth €150m?
Alvarez is regarded as one of the most valuable players in the world and is well worth his €100m price tag, according to FootballTransfers’ algorithm.
His Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €111m sees him ranked as the 13th most valuable player in the world, just one of 19 above the €100m mark.
The career-high ETV of Alvares is €129m, suggesting that Atleti’s upper-end valuation of around €150m is not so outrageous.
Atletico Madrid’s summer shake up
Atleti, meanwhile, have drawn up a shortlist of players they could sign with the money recouped from any sale as they plan a summer ‘shake up’ of the transfer market.
Among those on the shortlist of Diego Simeone’s side are PSG midfielder Kang-In Lee, Barcelona attacker Ferran Torres, Marseille winger Mason Greenwood, Tottenham centre-back Cristian Romero and Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella.
All these names have long been linked with the Wanda Metropolitano side, yet a historic deal for Alvarez could hold the key for one or several of these to get over the line at long last.
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