Argentina striker Julian Alvarez heads into the World Cup as arguably the most coveted forward in European football, despite being just 26 years old.
The Argentine is the subject of a sensational transfer tug-of-war between Atletico Madrid, Real Madrid, and Barcelona, with all three clubs desperate to secure his signature.
Real Madrid president Florentino Perez made good on his election promise by tabling a 150 million euro offer for Alvarez, only to be firmly and mockingly rejected by Atletico.
Alvarez joined Atletico Madrid in August 2024 for £81.5m, departing Manchester City where he had grown frustrated at playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland.
At City, he scored 36 goals in 106 appearances and contributed to the club’s famous Treble-winning season, earning six major trophies during his two-year stay.
“There was never any kind of problem,” Alvarez said. “I simply told him [Guardiola] how I felt – that I wanted more minutes in some matches where I knew I wouldn’t get them or simply wasn’t getting them.”
“Of course he understood. Players always want more minutes, they want to grow, they want to play the big moments. And if I felt I wasn’t going to have them there, he gave me the freedom to choose my path.”
City originally signed Alvarez for just £14.1m, meaning his departure to Atletico represented their most expensive sale in the club’s history.
At Atletico, he has thrived under Diego Simeone, registering 49 goals and 17 assists in 106 games, including a strike in the Copa del Rey final against Real Sociedad and in the Champions League semi-final first leg against Arsenal.
Simeone said in September: “Julian Alvarez is the best player we have, we need to take care of him and keep him for many years at Atletico. We have to help him be even better than he is.”
France legend Thierry Henry has also spoken glowingly about the striker, saying on The Overlap: “One of my favourite number nines out there is Julian Alvarez. Putting pressure, playing alone, he can hold it up, he has played at the Olympic Games, Copa America and I didn’t hear him saying he is tired.”
Barcelona have also been firmly in the race, with Spain defender Pau Cubarsi calling Alvarez a “spectacular footballer”, a “world-class striker” and one with the “quality for Barcelona.”
Last month, Atletico took aim at Barcelona over what they described as a “smear campaign” in pursuit of Alvarez, with BBC Sport columnist Guillem Balague confirming that talks had opened over signing the Argentine.
Rodri, Alvarez’s former City team-mate, added further intrigue in March by saying “you can’t turn down the best clubs in the world” when asked about a potential move to Real Madrid.
Atletico quoted Real’s official statement on X alongside a series of laughing emojis before adding: “You must have confused education with gratitude, but to leave no doubt: we don’t thank you for anything. We neither study nor consider any offer for Julian.”
Atletico also pointed to Alvarez’s eye-watering 500 million euro release clause, equivalent to £430m, as their definitive answer to Real’s opening bid.
Real’s pursuit of Alvarez comes at a turbulent time for the club, with former midfielder Xabi Alonso lasting only 34 games before replacement Alvaro Arbeloa managed just 21 matches in charge.
The Spanish giants ended last season without a trophy and behind Barcelona, prompting Perez to appoint Jose Mourinho in a bid to revive the club’s fortunes.
With world-class players like Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Jr, Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold already in their ranks, Real believe Alvarez would add the work rate and unselfishness their squad has sometimes lacked.
Having been rebuffed once, all eyes will now turn to whether Perez tries again to lure the Argentine to the Bernabeu as the centrepiece of a new Galacticos era.
