Arsenal boss added a smart Julian Alvarez clause that might still help Mikel Arteta with transfer plans.
Arsenal’s sporting director reportedly helped add a smart clause to Julián Álvarez’s Atlético Madrid contract, which could work in Arsenal’s favor if they try to sign him this summer.
As Álvarez gets ready to defend Argentina’s World Cup title, there’s a lot of talk about where he might go next. Barcelona, Arsenal, and Real Madrid are all linked with the Atlético striker. Barcelona wants to replace their veteran forward Robert Lewandowski and already had a €100 million (£86.3 million) offer turned down by Atlético.
Atlético responded with a funny message on X, joking that they offered Barcelona tickets to a Bad Bunny concert, a magazine subscription, and sunflower seeds, waiting for a reply to announce the deal.
Paris Saint-Germain, the European champions, were also mentioned as a possible option but seem to be looking elsewhere now. Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Pérez, recently said they’re ready to spend about €150 million (£129.4 million) on a “great player” from a “major Champions League club,” which sparked rumors that Álvarez might be the target.
Reports say Real Madrid wanted to stop Barcelona from signing Álvarez by going after him themselves. But his reported €500 million (£431.3 million) release clause could make talks tough.
Atlético is said to be upset about Barcelona’s interest and denies any talks between the clubs, even though Álvarez has reportedly expressed a desire to leave Madrid.
According to GIVEMESPORT’s Ben Jacobs, Álvarez’s big release clause has special terms for some Champions League clubs, including Barcelona, which might let them sign him for closer to €150 million (£129.4 million). This would make a move much more possible.
Jacobs also says the clause was put in by Atlético’s CEO Miguel Ángel Gil and former sporting director Andrea Berta—who now works at Arsenal—when Álvarez joined from Manchester City in 2024. This means Arsenal or another club might sign him for the lower fee, not the full €500 million.
Álvarez has scored 49 goals and helped with 17 assists in 106 games for Diego Simeone’s team.
After Arsenal lost the Champions League final to PSG on May 30, their coach Mikel Arteta said the club needs to be “ambitious and smart” this summer.
“I’ll take a few days with my family first, then we’ll review what we’ve done,” he said. “We’ll have to make some big decisions if we want to improve. We need to be ambitious, quick, and clever.”
Besides Álvarez, Arsenal are also linked with Juventus’ Kenan Yildiz, Leicester City’s young star Jeremy Monga, and PSG’s 18-year-old defender Emmanuel Mbemba.