Fabrizio Romano has confirmed a Barcelona transfer stance that flies directly in the face of everything Atletico Madrid’s president said this week.
Barcelona’s summer has already produced fireworks. Anthony Gordon has arrived from Newcastle United in an €80m deal, and the England forward wasted no time endearing himself to supporters — as covered when Gordon fired England ahead against Argentina at the World Cup.
But the front line is not finished, and one striker saga has hovered over the club’s window from the start. With the World Cup now over, the story is about to accelerate — and this week its two presidents traded very public messages.
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo gave an interview intended to close the door for good. Romano’s latest reporting suggests Barcelona have read it very differently.
Cerezo’s message — and the response from Catalonia
The player is Julian Alvarez. According to Fabrizio Romano, speaking on his YouTube channel, Cerezo was asked again about the Argentina striker and replied: “Laporta is my good friend. We are good friends, but Laporta already knows where Julian will play next season.” Cerezo added that Alvarez “is an Atletico Madrid player and will remain an Atletico Madrid player next season.”
Romano, however, made clear the pursuit is not over: “Barcelona have not given up. The club deliberately chose to respect the player during the World Cup and avoided creating unnecessary distractions. Now that the tournament is over, Barcelona will resume their efforts to understand whether there is still a way to complete the deal.”
Romano also noted president Joan Laporta’s recent public position — that Barcelona’s offer “remains on the table, but not indefinitely.” As Romano put it: “This is certainly a story that will be very important to follow.”
Can Barcelona actually get Alvarez this summer?
The obstacles are real. Atletico’s public confidence is total, Alvarez remains under long-term contract, and prising a talisman from a direct La Liga rival is the hardest deal in football. Barcelona’s squad-building elsewhere — including reported interest in Cristian Romero — shows a club acting boldly, but a deal of this scale would test the limits of their financial planning.
Yet the pattern Romano describes matters: Barcelona paused deliberately, not because interest cooled. A club that respects a player’s World Cup and then immediately resumes contact is a club playing a long game. The verdict: Cerezo’s words are a negotiating position, not a full stop — but unless Barcelona arrive with an offer Atletico simply cannot dismiss, this one may roll on deep into August. Watch this space, because per Romano, Barcelona certainly are.
