Barcelona change strategy in pursuit of Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez

Barcelona are continuing their efforts to sign Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid, but have changed approach as the proposed transfer becomes increasingly difficult and time begins to run short.

The Catalan club’s latest move was a meeting in Madrid between sporting director Deco and Fernando Hidalgo, Alvarez’s agent. According to AS, the discussions led Barcelona to reassess how they intend to pursue the Argentina striker.

Rather than immediately seeking to force the issue through public statements, Barcelona are now expected to wait for Alvarez to make a clear move of his own. The player previously expressed his desire to leave publicly during the 2026 World Cup, when he called for permission to depart while speaking in the mixed zone.

The current plan is to give greater priority to diplomacy and dialogue. Alvarez is expected to join Atletico Madrid’s training sessions and avoid making public comments for now. He will instead wait to meet the manager, followed by discussions with the club’s board, where he is expected to reaffirm that he wants to leave and that his preferred destination is Barcelona.

Whether that approach can create a route towards an agreement remains uncertain. Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and chief executive Miguel Angel Gil have so far maintained firm positions against allowing their player to leave.

The situation could force all parties to consider the risks of keeping a footballer who has already told the club he wants a transfer. Alvarez is also expected to remind Atletico Madrid of a commitment which, according to his agent, was made to him previously: that the club would allow him to depart if an attractive offer arrived.

Alvarez believes a move to Barcelona would benefit both sides, but Atletico Madrid do not share that assessment.

For the dialogue between the player and the club to make progress, Barcelona would logically need to improve their financial proposal significantly. Their initial offer did not reach 100m euros before being increased to that figure.

Barcelona’s latest proposal is now understood to be worth about 120m euros for the Argentina international. Even with that increase, Atletico Madrid’s resistance means the transfer remains far from straightforward.

The immediate focus will therefore be on Alvarez’s meetings with Atletico Madrid and whether he chooses to press his case privately rather than make another public appeal. Barcelona’s revised strategy places the emphasis on negotiations and the player’s relationship with his current club, while the Spanish side continues to reject the prospect of losing one of its key players.