Real Madrid make £130million bid for Julian Alvarez – but Atletico Madrid reject offer
Real Madrid's £130 million offer for Julián Álvarez was rejected by Atlético Madrid, who cited the player's release clause as €500 million. Atlético responded humorously to the offer, making clear their reluctance.
Real Madrid submitted a €150 million (£130 million) offer to Atletico Madrid for striker Julian Alvarez, which was rejected by the city rivals. Real president Florentino Pérez promised last week that if he was re-elected he would offer 150 million euros for a designated "Galactico" player. After successfully maintaining control on Sunday, Perez made good on his promise. However, the offer for the 26-year-old Argentinian forward was rejected by Atletico, who cited Alvarez's release clause as being 500 million euros (£430 million).
"Following the board meeting held today, we made an offer of 150 million euros to Club Atlético de Madrid for the federal rights of the player Julián Álvarez," Real said in a statement.
"After reviewing the offer, Club Atlético de Madrid expressed its gratitude for the offer in the context of the good relations between the two clubs and turned it down, citing the player's release clause." Atlético responded with a joke, writing that "You've probably confused education with gratitude, but to clarify: we don't thank you for anything. We don't consider any offer for Julian. How can we deal, when you make us laugh more than Barcelona."
Atletico said in a final post: "P.S. Taking advantage of the good relationship with your new president, let's see if you stop 'stealing' from our academy. Thank you, @realmadrid!" Former Manchester City player Alvarez, who won the World Cup with Argentina in 2022, joins the La Liga club in a deal worth £81.5million in 2024. He scored 20 goals in 49 appearances for Atlético last season as his team finished fourth in the table and reached the Champions League semi-finals.