Barcelona has drawn a line under any fallback plan in its long, frustrating chase of Julián Álvarez. According to a report from the Israeli outlet ONE, the club's hierarchy has decided the rest of the summer window will be spent on the Argentine striker alone — and if that fails, on nobody at all.
The policy was set during a four-hour sit-down between president Joan Laporta and sporting director Deco at the club's training complex, ONE reports. Laporta's instruction, as relayed by the outlet, was for Deco to show patience and hold out for Álvarez until the closing hours of the window, rather than settle for a forward signed purely to fill a gap.
Money remains the sticking point. Barcelona's earlier offer of €100 million for Álvarez has drawn no formal response from Atlético Madrid, per ONE. The club says it is open to improving that bid, but only once Atlético and club president Miguel Ángel Gil Marín show genuine willingness to sit down and negotiate.
Deco and coach Hansi Flick reportedly scanned the available market for alternative number nines and came away unconvinced that any of them justified a purely defensive signing. Their confidence rests on the attacking options already at Flick's disposal — Raphinha, deployed as a central striker, alongside Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Dani Olmo, Fermín López and Lamine Yamal, all cited by ONE as reasons the club feels it can afford to hold its nerve.
Should the move collapse before Spain's transfer window shuts, Deco and Flick intend to revisit the Álvarez question in January, reassessing the squad's needs once the season is under way, according to the report.
For his part, Álvarez has left no doubt about where he wants to be. The 26-year-old has pushed for a move to Barcelona for weeks, a stance that has put him at odds with sections of the Atlético support and left an already tense summer at the Metropolitano dragging on.
The stakes are sharpened by the calendar: Spain's transfer window closes on September 1, giving both clubs only days to break the deadlock before Barcelona's all-or-nothing gamble is decided one way or the other.
Nothing here has been confirmed by either club directly — this is Barcelona's internal calculus as described by ONE — but it captures a boardroom that would rather walk away empty-handed than blink first.
