Laporta on the Álvarez saga: Barcelona stepped back, then Atlético spoke to other clubs

Barcelona president Joan Laporta addressed the transfer market on 26 August 2026 and focused his remarks on Atlético Madrid forward Julián Álvarez, confirming that the club made a formal, club-to-club offer and remains interested should Atlético change its stance.

Laporta said he personally communicated the bid to Atlético's sporting director and described the sequence of events that followed. He preserved a tone of respect toward Atlético while explaining why Barcelona stayed in the race.

How the talks unfolded and Barcelona's stance

Laporta kept to the details when recounting the conversation. "First, we have absolute respect for Atlético Madrid and their leadership and we value them, because we have known each other for many years," Laporta began. "I want to clarify how things developed because Barcelona made an offer to Atlético Madrid, club to club. I personally confirmed this offer during a telephone conversation with Miguel Angel Gil Marin (Atlético director).

"He told me that they had no intention of selling the player, because they did not have an option to replace him. And I told him that we are interested in the player and that, of course, we respect their stance not to sell him, but if they can find a replacement for him in the current summer transfer window, we are interested in signing him.

"On that basis, and after Atlético Madrid confirmed they would not sell him, we said: 'Okay, let's leave that for later, because in principle they don't have a replacement for him and therefore we cannot sign the player.'"

Laporta then described information Barcelona later received and why the club kept its offer on the table. "What happened then? The club received information that Atlético Madrid was negotiating with other clubs to sell him. And of course, given this information that reached us, we say that we remain committed to our proposal and our offer, because it is publicly known that the player wants to come to Barcelona.

"Therefore, this situation caused a storm that was not caused by Barcelona's actions, but by the fact that we were told they would not sell the player, whereas it seems, at least according to the information that reached us, that they are trying to reach agreements with other clubs.

"And therefore at FC Barcelona we are still here, and the offer we made remains valid until the end of the transfer window (1 September), in case Atlético Madrid decides to sell the player. And the truth is that we are very interested in the player and want our offer to be accepted, doing so with all due respect to Atlético Madrid. And we want them to know that if they are prepared to sell the player during this summer transfer window, we are ready to sign him under the terms of the offer we made."

Photo: press material from the event