Deco met on Wednesday afternoon in Barcelona with intermediaries chosen by FC Barcelona to explore a move for Julián Álvarez, whose camp has been at the centre of fresh transfer activity ahead of the World Cup.
The meeting, reported by Mundo Deportivo, ran until about eight in the evening and stretched for more than four hours. Fernando Hidalgo, Álvarez’s representative, joined after the discussion had already started and left only after that lengthy session; Joan Laporta arrived at the hotel later, after Hidalgo had gone. Those present also included Juanma López and Andy Bara, according to the same report.
The talks appear to have real teeth: SPORT says Barcelona will soon make a first offer to Atlético de Madrid for the Argentine, a proposal calculated at roughly 90 million euros plus bonuses. Barcelona internally estimates the price could be around 100 million euros, rising with variables, but Atlético is asking for a very large fee and, according to MARCA, will not listen to offers that start below 150 million euros.
Club sources and the intermediaries involved have told Barcelona’s hierarchy that the move must be clarified quickly. Deco, who has kept constant contact with Álvarez’s agents since before the start of 2026, and the club conveyed to the striker’s camp that he needed to take a clear step to show his priority; Barcelona believes Álvarez has already shown his preference for the club. Hansi Flick has spoken several times with Álvarez as national-team planning closes in on the tournament.
The timing sharpens the stakes. Barcelona wants to close the signing before the World Cup begins — Argentina debuts against Algeria on June 17 — and sources say the club is pressing to crystallise an approach while negotiations and medical planning can still be handled before the tournament. PSG is determined to push strongly for Álvarez, and Arsenal is also closely following the situation, so Barcelona faces competition even if it files the first formal bid.
The friction is plain. MARCA reports that Álvarez "no quiere renovar" at Atlético and that he rejected an offer to improve his salary because, in the paper’s words, "no acepta la oferta para mejorar su salario porque su hoja de ruta pasa por vestir otra elástica el próximo curso." MARCA also framed the situation bluntly: "Quiere ir al Barça, sin capacidad financiera para pagar los mínimo 150 millones que cuesta." Atlético, by contrast, is said to be holding out for a sum well above Barcelona’s opening figure and some inside the club oppose including players in any exchange designed to lower the cash required. The player’s contract carries a 500 million euro release clause, but Atlético appears intent on extracting a top-level fee and — if they sell — will need to recruit a high-quality number nine.
Barcelona’s immediate next move, as laid out in the talks, is to put an offer on the table. SPORT’s figures suggest that offer will be in the region of €90m plus performance-related bonuses; Barcelona calculates the package could move toward €100m with add-ons. What follows next is straightforward bargaining: Atlético must decide whether to engage at that level, Barcelona must decide how far it will stretch given reported internal limits, and PSG or Arsenal could attempt to upend the negotiation if Atlético keeps the price high.
For Julián Álvarez, the human centre of this sequence, the story is now a race between stated preference and market reality. He reportedly told Atlético through his agent that he "está feliz en el club, pero que si sale la opción del Barcelona la preferiría," and multiple outlets have conveyed that he wants to play for Barcelona next season. The closing judgment is this: Barcelona has laid the groundwork and plans to make an opening bid, but with Atlético holding a much higher asking price and rival suitors waiting, the club has only a narrow window to convert preference into transfer before Argentina’s campaign begins on June 17.
