Atletico Madrid star Julian Alvarez has been the main talking point in Spain since the end of the Liga season, with Barcelona highly interested, and Los Colchoneros desperate to fend off their interest. However if Alvarez does want to leave Los Rojiblancos, one of their alternative buyers has decided to drop out of the race for him.
After a week full of rumours about his future, Atletico responded to them by trolling the Catalan side on social media, but also denying reports of a €100m offer, pointing to the fact that Alvarez is under contract until 2030, and has a €500m release clause. Nevertheless, there have been widespread reports that Alvarez has made it clear to Atletico that he would like to leave, and that Barcelona are his preferred destination.
The two other clubs that have been linked with Alvarez frequently in recent months have been Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain. Yet L’Equipe (via Diario AS) note that PSG have decided to take a step back from the race to sign him after initial talks. There was a suggestion that PSG had already made an offer to Atletico that was met with no reply, albeit that was before Alvarez made it clear he would be keen to leave.
The reason for PSG’s decision is because they were not convinced that Alvarez was keen to sign for them after their initial talks, and did not want to pursue him if he was not excited about playing for them.
The unknown factor is whether the Gunners could get involved in the race. After winning the Premier League but coming up just short in the Champions League, the desire will be to get over the line, and they may feel they are just a player away. Last summer’s number nine signing Viktor Gyokeres has struggled to meet expectations in his first season there too.
