Arsenal make a surprise move, swapping for Julian Alvarez after Barcelona and Real Madrid passed on him
Arsenal are reportedly close to a surprising swap deal that would bring Julian Alvarez back to the Premier League, according to reports. Alvarez, who spent two seasons at Manchester City and won two Premier League titles there, has been fantastic since his record-breaking £81.8 million move to Atletico Madrid. He’s scored 49 goals in 106 games for Atleti but is expected to leave this summer, with plenty of clubs interested in signing him.
European champions Paris Saint-Germain have shown interest, and both Barcelona and Real Madrid are also in the race to sign the Argentine striker. Alvarez was even revealed as the mystery Galactico signing targeted by Real Madrid’s president, Florentino Perez. Real made a huge club-record bid of £129.4 million, which Atletico rejected. Before that, Barcelona reportedly offered £86.3 million, hoping Alvarez could replace Robert Lewandowski.
But now, fresh reports say Arsenal are leading the chase and have made real progress. On the show El Chiringuito, journalist Jota Jordi said Atletico’s boss Gil Marin told Barcelona president Joan Laporta that Alvarez isn’t for sale. Jordi, who has nearly a million followers on X (formerly Twitter), called the Arsenal deal “done.”
This isn’t a simple transfer though. Jordi said the deal involves €50 million plus Victor Gyokeres going the other way. Gyokeres, who joined Arsenal last summer for £55 million, had a slow start but ended up scoring 21 goals in 55 games as Arsenal won the Premier League for the first time in 22 years. His value has risen, making the entire Alvarez deal worth about £130 million.
Even so, Barcelona haven’t given up yet. David Bernabeu, speaking on SPORT’s La Posesion show, said Barcelona plan “one last big attempt” to sign Alvarez after the World Cup ends. They won’t offer a player swap — just a fixed fee starting at €135 million, possibly rising to €150 million with bonuses. Alvarez’s contract with Atletico runs until 2030 and his release clause is a massive €500 million. Still, some Atletico board members might consider a transfer if a strong enough offer comes in.
Back at City, Alvarez was a great bargain at just £14 million from River Plate, but he struggled to replace star striker Erling Haaland as the main forward. Right now, Alvarez is with Argentina at the World Cup in the United States and came off the bench in their opening 3-0 win over Algeria.