{"id":1232,"date":"2026-05-30T08:55:55","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T05:55:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/"},"modified":"2026-05-30T08:55:55","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T05:55:55","slug":"barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/","title":{"rendered":"Barcelona shift focus from Osimhen to Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona have cooled their pursuit of Victor Osimhen, with their transfer attention shifting to Argentina forward Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez of Atl\u00e9tico Madrid. The change comes amid growing confidence that Barcelona can move quickly for a player viewed internally as a long-term target.<\/p>\n<p>The pivot follows a major statement of intent from Bar\u00e7a after they secured Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon for a reported \u20ac80 million. With that deal completed, the club\u2019s recruitment focus appears to have broadened to a new marquee striker option.<\/p>\n<h3>Quick facts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Barcelona have ended their interest in Victor Osimhen as their top target.<\/li>\n<li>Barcelona\u2019s new priority is Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez of Atl\u00e9tico Madrid.<\/li>\n<li>Barcelona recently signed Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon for \u20ac80 million.<\/li>\n<li>Bar\u00e7a are expected to make an offer for \u00c1lvarez in the short term.<\/li>\n<li>No swap deal is preferred, and player-involved arrangements are not planned.<\/li>\n<li>Atl\u00e9tico have been told \u00c1lvarez wants to leave.<\/li>\n<li>\u00c1lvarez is not expected to extend his contract.<\/li>\n<li>Atl\u00e9tico previously hoped to keep him until mid-2031; his deal runs until summer 2030.<\/li>\n<li>A reported buyout clause stands at \u20ac500 million.<\/li>\n<li>While no fee is confirmed here, prior reports have suggested around \u20ac150 million.<\/li>\n<li>\u00c1lvarez joined Atl\u00e9tico from Manchester City in summer 2024 for about \u20ac90 million.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Barcelona are said to see \u00c1lvarez as a dream signing, particularly after earlier links to Osimhen. The plan now is straightforward: present an offer soon, rather than wait and let the market move on.<\/p>\n<p>Swap arrangements are not viewed as the route Barcelona want. The intention is to avoid multi-million dollar deals that pull other players into the structure, keeping the focus on a direct transfer approach.<\/p>\n<p>Behind the scenes, negotiations are reportedly intensifying with the help of intermediaries. The parties appear to be working toward a workable path that fits Barcelona\u2019s timeline and Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s position.<\/p>\n<h3>Contract situation and price expectations<\/h3>\n<p>\u00c1lvarez has reportedly already notified Atl\u00e9tico Madrid that he wants to leave. He is also not looking to renew, even as Atl\u00e9tico had aimed to retain him until mid-2031.<\/p>\n<p>His current contract is set to run until the summer of 2030 and is reported to include a buyout clause worth \u20ac500 million. Although no exact transfer fee has been specified in this update, several outlets previously projected a figure in the region of \u20ac150 million.<\/p>\n<p>\u00c1lvarez made the move from Manchester City to Atl\u00e9tico in the summer of 2024, with a reported payment of roughly \u20ac90 million at the time. With his intentions clear and negotiations now heating up, Barcelona\u2019s next step is expected to be an approach for a striker they believe can become central to their plans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona have cooled their pursuit of Victor Osimhen, with their transfer attention shifting to Argentina forward Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez of Atl\u00e9tico Madrid. The change comes amid growing confidence that Barcelona can move quickly for a player viewed internally as a long-term target. The pivot follows a major statement of intent from Bar\u00e7a after they secured Newcastle [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer ","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1232","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Zalebs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-30T05:55:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Zibuyile Dladla\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"headline\":\"Barcelona shift focus from Osimhen to Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T05:55:55+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":450,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/\",\"name\":\"Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-30T05:55:55+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\"},\"description\":\"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Barcelona shift focus from Osimhen to Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/\",\"name\":\"Zalebs\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e\",\"name\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-ZA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Zibuyile Dladla\"},\"description\":\"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/za.linkedin.com\\\/in\\\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/zalebs.com\\\/news\\\/author\\\/zibuyile-dladla\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez","description":"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez","og_description":"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer","og_url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/","og_site_name":"Zalebs","article_published_time":"2026-05-30T05:55:55+00:00","author":"Zibuyile Dladla","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Zibuyile Dladla","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/"},"author":{"name":"Zibuyile Dladla","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"headline":"Barcelona shift focus from Osimhen to Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez","datePublished":"2026-05-30T05:55:55+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/"},"wordCount":450,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/","name":"Barcelona Transfer News: Targeting Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-30T05:55:55+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e"},"description":"Barcelona cool Osimhen pursuit and pivot to Atl\u00e9tico Madrid\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, with Anthony Gordon\u2019s \u20ac80m deal freeing up transfer","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-ZA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/barcelona-shift-focus-from-osimhen-to-atleticos-julian-alvarez\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Barcelona shift focus from Osimhen to Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/","name":"Zalebs","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-ZA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/6da1a9a659a2b9fb37587bf050637d1e","name":"Zibuyile Dladla","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-ZA","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/1f581f0bb57ed4fd97eeb8353242d5a3c12548c2ff26373e9e5be1e00d4fad05?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Zibuyile Dladla"},"description":"Zibuyile began her media journey as a sales intern at Mediamark (Kagiso Media) before moving into digital content creation for ZAlebs.com. Over four years, she helped evolve the platform from a simple blog into one of South Africa\u2019s leading independent entertainment news sites. Following ZAlebs\u2019 transition to Celebrity Worx in 2016, Zibuyile was promoted to Executive Editor, recognized for her sharp audience insight and ability to match editorial with branded content. Highlights of her time include a Bookmark Award nomination, judging TLC\u2019s Next Great Presenter, reporting from the MTV EMAs, and building partnerships with radio stations like YFM, Cliff Central, and Good Hope FM. Her editorial work also expanded to include fast-growing digital verticals\u2014such as lifestyle tech, online entertainment, and gambling-related content\u2014tailored to evolving reader interests and brand opportunities.","sameAs":["https:\/\/za.linkedin.com\/in\/zibuyile-dladla-9a26628a"],"url":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/author\/zibuyile-dladla\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}