{"id":2628,"date":"2026-07-03T19:45:52","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:45:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/laporta-confirms-barcelona-bid-for-atletico-striker-julian-alvarez\/"},"modified":"2026-07-03T19:45:52","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T16:45:52","slug":"laporta-confirms-barcelona-bid-for-atletico-striker-julian-alvarez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/laporta-confirms-barcelona-bid-for-atletico-striker-julian-alvarez\/","title":{"rendered":"Laporta Confirms Barcelona Bid for Atletico Striker Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona have tabled a bid for Atletico Madrid striker Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, club president Joan Laporta confirmed, as the Catalan giants look to reshape their attack after Robert Lewandowski\u2019s move.<\/p>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Joan Laporta says Barcelona have made a transfer offer for Atletico\u2019s striker Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez.<\/li>\n<li>Bar\u00e7a are targeting \u00c1lvarez to fill the gap left by Robert Lewandowski after the forward joined Chicago Fire.<\/li>\n<li>Laporta stated that Deco submitted the proposal and that Atletico indicated they were not initially set to sell.<\/li>\n<li>Barcelona insist their relationship with Atletico remains strong despite media claims of an intended FIFA complaint.<\/li>\n<li>\u00c1lvarez previously said it would be \u201cbest for everyone\u201d if he were allowed to leave Atletico.<\/li>\n<li>Atletico turned down Real Madrid\u2019s 150 million euro offer for \u00c1lvarez in June, and he arrived from Manchester City in 2024.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Bar\u00e7a\u2019s bid for \u00c1lvarez and the Lewandowski replacement plan<\/h2>\n<p>Barcelona\u2019s pursuit of \u00c1lvarez has intensified in the wake of Lewandowski\u2019s departure to the MLS. Laporta said the club has put forward an offer for the Argentina international as Bar\u00e7a seek a replacement for their outgoing striker.<\/p>\n<p>Laporta also noted that \u00c1lvarez has been on the club\u2019s radar for months. After being sworn in as president following his re-election in March, he said Barcelona have now made the move for the 26-year-old, adding that the player has long expressed a desire to make the switch since his time at Manchester City.<\/p>\n<h2>What Laporta said about Atletico\u2019s stance<\/h2>\n<p>Addressing the negotiations, Laporta explained that sporting director Deco had made an offer for a specific sum. He said Atletico told Barcelona in principle that they were not planning to sell, citing the absence of an alternative, while also stressing that Bar\u00e7a\u2019s proposal is a firm one.<\/p>\n<p>Laporta added that Barcelona will keep the offer active until they assess whether there is a more suitable course of action. He also maintained that relations between the two clubs remain good at an institutional level, despite reports claiming Atletico\u2019s leadership would take the matter to FIFA over Bar\u00e7a\u2019s interest in \u00c1lvarez.<\/p>\n<h2>\u00c1lvarez\u2019s comments and the prior Real Madrid offer<\/h2>\n<p>Laporta pointed to the player\u2019s own position, referencing comments made last week by \u00c1lvarez while he was with Argentina at the World Cup. The forward said it would be \u201cbest for everyone\u201d if he could leave Atletico.<\/p>\n<p>Atletico\u2019s negotiating posture has also been reflected in their recent dealings. In June, they rejected a proposal worth 150 million euros (171 million dollars) from Real Madrid for \u00c1lvarez.<\/p>\n<p>\u00c1lvarez joined Atletico from Manchester City in 2024 on a deal reported to be worth up to 85 million euros (97 million dollars), setting the stage for Barcelona\u2019s latest attempt to secure the striker\u2019s signature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Barcelona have tabled a bid for Atletico Madrid striker Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez, club president Joan Laporta confirmed, as the Catalan giants look to reshape their attack after Robert Lewandowski\u2019s move. Key takeaways Joan Laporta says Barcelona have made a transfer offer for Atletico\u2019s striker Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez. Bar\u00e7a are targeting \u00c1lvarez to fill the gap left by [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2627,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Barcelona Transfer News: Laporta Targets Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Joan Laporta confirms Barcelona\u2019s bid for Atletico striker Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez as Bar\u00e7a plan to replace Robert Lewandowski after his Ch","mma_seo_breadcrumb_text":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_url":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_hide_ui":"","mma_seo_breadcrumb_labels":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2628","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","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: Laporta Targets Juli\u00e1n 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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\/2628","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=2628"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2628\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2627"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zalebs.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}