Atletico Madrid seek €500 million fee for Barcelona transfer target originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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On Monday afternoon, the football world was sent into a state of frenzy after Argentina star Julian Alvarez confessed that he would be open to a move away from his club, Atletico Madrid. The revelation comes only two years into Alvarez’s contract.
But being truthful, the only shocking bit of it was Alvarez’s feelings on the matter, wanting to leave, as there have been several clubs circling the waters for him since the European season came to an end. Real Madrid had been interested in acquiring him to fulfill the promise made by Florentino Perez after his election into the Bernabeu Club Presidency.
This inquisition into acquiring Alvarez from Los Blancos did all but please the Atletico board, who swiftly rejected their cross-town rivals’ offer for their star striker, but this would have some rippling effects. Given that Real Madrid’s €150 million bid wasn’t enough, it set what could be perceived as a floor in the negotiations for acquiring the Argentine, which is what fellow La Liga side, Barcelona, were keen on doing as they look to find a replacement for the now-departed Robert Lewandowski.
But it’s starting to appear that Atletico Madrid is going to be deploying a similar tactic for Barcelona’s interest in Alvarez, setting quite a high price.
Atletico Madrid wants a huge fee for Alvarez
Given the competitiveness that exists in La Liga, dealing your star player out to one of your domestic rivals is never an appealing option. This view is being reflected in Atletico’s stance on the matter, as they are only willing to depart with their star forward for the hefty fee of €500 million, which matches the release clause in his contract, as reported by Diario AS’ Patricia Cazon.
“There is no amount Barcelona can pay for Julián, and he will not be transferred to Barcelona.” “Either they pay the €500 million release clause or nothing,” they stated,” writes Patricia Cazon, citing sources from Atletico Madrid.
This is substantially higher than where Los Blancos were offering during their initial inquiry after Perez’s reelection back in early June, and could potentially be an issue for the Catalan club given their costly spending previously in the transfer window, as well as their known financial issues over the last few years.
In the event that Barcelona does end up triggering Alvarez’s release clause, it would smash the existing transfer fee record, having been set by Neymar’s €222 million move from the Camp Nou to Paris Saint-Germain back in 2017. But given the financial hardships that the Catalonian side has experienced over the last few seasons, it’d be a shocker to see anything happen in the region of the Argentine’s release clause.
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