Re-elected Real Madrid president Florentino Perez made good on his promise of a giant bid for a Champions League player on Tuesday, but it didn’t land its target.
Los Blancos confirmed that Atletico rejected its €150 million offer for Argentina forward Julian Alvarez. The approach was the second of the summer for the 26-year-old World Cup winner with a similar bid from Barcelona rejected last week.
“Real Madrid CF announces that, following today’s Board of Directors meeting, it has made an offer of 150 million euros to Club Atlético de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julián Álvarez,” the team said in a statement. “After studying and evaluating it, Atlético de Madrid has thanked the club for the offer, made within the framework of the good relations existing between both clubs, and has rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.”
Despite Real’s statement of a cordial rebuffing, Atleti’s statement later in the day made it seems less than that.
“Official statement with our clarifications regarding the official statement from our neighbors, Real Madrid,” the statement read. “1. They cut out the part of the Pope’s video where he said he was an Atleti fan, too [commenting on an edited video of Pope Leo’s arrival in Madrid]. 2. You must have confused education with gratitude, but to leave no doubt: we don’t thank you for anything. 3. We neither study nor consider any offer for Julián. 4. How could we not get along, when you make us laugh even more than Barcelona does.”
A native of Calchin, Alvarez arrived at the Metropolitano in the summer of 2024 after a £81.8 million move from Manchester City. Over two seasons, the River Plate academy product has scored 49 goals in 106 appearances across all competitions.
Internationally, Alvarez has been capped 51 times by Argentina since his senior debut in 2021. He has 14 international goals, including three scored at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar and a brace against Canada at Copa America 2024. Alvarez will be a part of Argentina’s squad at this week’s World Cup.
Re-elected to another term as president at the Bernabeu, Perez made a high-profile transfer bid as part of his campaign.
“Next Tuesday, I will make an offer to an important Champions League club for a top player,” Perez promised this past Thursday. “It would be the biggest transfer fee Real Madrid have ever paid. It would be €150million, at least."
