Barcelona begin to give up on Julian Alvarez as Atletico Madrid refuse to change their mind

Barcelona begin to give up on Julian Alvarez as Atletico Madrid refuse to change their mind Barcelona’s long-running pursuit of Julian Alvarez appears to be reaching a critical point, with the club accepting that their chances of prising the Argentine away from Atletico Madrid this summer are fading. According to journalist Eduardo Burgos , Barcelona are beginning to write off a move for Alvarez after failing to find a way to change Atletico’s position.  The Madrid club remain in complete control of the situation and have shown little willingness to negotiate the sale of their star forward, particularly to a direct La Liga rival. Simply put, admiration for the player and his own desire to join the club may not be enough to overcome Atletico’s firm stance. Atletico Madrid hold the upper hand Alvarez has made it known that Barcelona represent his preferred destination, but Atletico have repeatedly made clear that they do not want to facilitate a transfer to the Catalan giants. Barcelona are losing hope in Julian Alvarez pursuit. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) Notably, Arsenal have also continued to work on a potential deal, aware that Atletico would prefer to do business with a club outside La Liga. For now, Barcelona could theoretically alter the story with an enormous offer.  It is said that a bid in the region of €150 million may force a different conversation, but there is a belief at Atletico that Barcelona do not currently have the financial capacity to approach such a figure. Barcelona do not want to sign a Plan B striker Until now, Barcelona’s transfer strategy had been based on a simple principle: sign Alvarez or wait. The club had assessed potential alternatives and concluded that none of the available centre-forwards is compelling enough to justify abandoning their primary target.  Atletico Madrid will not sell Julian Alvarez to Barcelona. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) Their preference was therefore to avoid signing a player simply to fill the position. The growing acceptance that Alvarez may not arrive this summer could now put that strategy to the test. Barcelona have remained firm that they do not intend to bring in another No. 9 if their pursuit of the Argentine fails.  That position could leave Hansi Flick to continue the season with the attacking options already available to him.