Barcelona made €100m offer for Julian Alvarez, says Deco

Barcelona sporting director Deco has revealed the club made a formal €100m offer for Julian Alvarez but received no response from Atletico Madrid.

The Argentina striker was the main transfer story of last summer, with Barcelona interested in signing him. However, Atletico officials were strongly opposed to his departure and were reportedly prepared to consider a transfer to any club other than Barcelona.

Deco discussed the situation publicly for the first time during an interview with Jordi Baste on the programme El Mon a Rac1, after months of speculation over Barcelona’s interest and Atletico’s firm stance.

“We had the information available and dealt with things properly,” Deco said, as reported by Sport. “We made an offer and did not receive any response.

“Most of what was said about the matter came through the media. We spoke to them respectfully and they told us from the beginning that they did not want to sell him. You cannot keep raising the same issue again and again; it was more about media pressure than reality, and there is no longer anything to discuss.”

Asked directly whether Barcelona had asked Alvarez to state publicly that he wanted to leave Atletico, Deco replied: “No.”

He also avoided expanding on comments made by Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin after the draw for the 2026-27 Champions League. Gil Marin had made serious allegations against Barcelona’s leadership and criticised the club in insulting terms.

“All I can say is what the reality dictates: we made a formal and proper offer,” Deco said. “I can speak only about my own situation, and I cannot go into details of any agreements that may have been reached between Atletico and Julian Alvarez.”

Deco then recalled his own experience as a player at Porto, where president Pinto da Costa refused to let him join Barcelona immediately.

“He asked me to stay for a year, and said that the following year I could move wherever I wanted,” Deco said. “I stayed, and my only option was to perform well and wait for the next year.

“After that year, I received an offer from Chelsea which involved more money, but I wanted to join Barcelona. Pinto da Costa then told me I was free to choose my destination, so I moved to Barcelona.”

Deco denied reports that Barcelona’s proposal for Alvarez would have been paid in six instalments.

“No,” he said. “When we made the €100m offer, it was to be paid over three seasons, just as other clubs do. Some clubs pay us over five seasons!” he added jokingly.

Deco also insisted he had no dispute with his Atletico counterpart, Mateo Alemany.

“I have no problem with Mateo,” he said. “I do not know whether he has a problem with me, because I have not done anything wrong to him. We worked together at Barcelona. Did we speak about Julian this summer? He did not respond to the offers we made for Julian.”

On Barcelona’s need for a traditional number nine, Deco said the club had several alternatives. He named Erling Haaland, Robert and Luis Suarez among the few forwards suited to the role, while recalling that Samuel Eto’o was more mobile.

He said Raphinha was currently performing well under the manager’s approach, Gabriel Jesus linked effectively with team-mates and moved well, while Hamza Abdulkarim was closer to a classic penalty-box number nine.