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Real Madrid has officially announced that it has submitted a €150 million bid to sign Julián Álvarez from Atlético Madrid, yet Atlético Madrid turned down the offer citing the player's release clause.
Real Madrid Official Statement
Real Madrid C.F. announces that following today's board meeting, the club has submitted a €150 million bid to Atlético de Madrid to acquire the transfer rights of player Julián Álvarez.
After review and assessment, Atlético de Madrid acknowledged the proposal put forward within the framework of the good relations between the two clubs, but rejected the bid on the grounds of the player's release clause.
Florentino Pérez previously stated on a local television show that he would make an offer of over €150 million for a top-tier attacking midfielder or forward worthy of the Galáctico label.
Florentino Pérez said:"Next Tuesday, we will table an offer of more than €150 million for a player who features in the UEFA Champions League. This will be the most expensive signing in Real Madrid's history.
"It will not be Erling Haaland, nor Michael Olise, Harry Kane or Jeremy Doku. He is not a defender, but a player for the attacking and midfield areas, and a young talent.
"We sign players to create a sensation, just like Luís Figo, Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazário, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaká. This player is of the same calibre, and he does not play in the Premier League. He is absolutely a Galáctico-calibre player."
Atlético Madrid Official Response
After reposting Real Madrid's statement with five face-with-tears-of-joy emojis, Atlético Madrid's official social media accounts released a unified reply across all platforms regarding the rejected €150 million bid for Julián Álvarez.
Atlético Madrid Official Statement
Official clarification regarding the statement released by our neighbour @Real Madrid Official:
You edited out a segment from the footage featuring the Pope, the part where he said he is also an Atlético Madrid fan.
You may have mistaken our politeness for gratitude, but to leave no room for doubt: we are not grateful at all.
We have neither studied nor assessed any offer concerning Julián.
How could our relationship be bad? You are even better at making us laugh than @FC Barcelona.
Shortly afterwards, Atlético Madrid's social media accounts posted another note:
P.S. Since you claim to have such a good relationship with our new board, could you try to stop poaching players from our youth academy? Thank you very much!
Latest updates on Julián Álvarez's potential move to Barcelona
According to Cadena COPE, Atlético Madrid and FC Barcelona had previously reached a pre-agreement over Julián Álvarez. Under the deal, Atlético Madrid would sell the player to Barcelona for €150 million. Later, Barcelona withdrew the original bid and proposed a new offer of €100 million to sign the player via installment payments.
Atlético Madrid quickly issued a statement, making it clear that the club would never sell Julián Álvarez for €100 million. It was right at this moment that Florentino Pérez stepped in with his bid.
As reported by La Sexta:After Real Madrid's €150 million bid was rejected, Julián Álvarez directly contacted key figures at Barcelona. He made it clear that he had not held any negotiations with Real Madrid and had no intention of doing so, as he wishes to join Barcelona.
The player also mentioned a promise made by Atlético Madrid back in February: the club would not put any obstacles in his way if he intended to move to Barcelona.
Therefore, Barcelona remains calm over the situation. The club believes the final decision lies with the player and regards Real Madrid's bid merely as a price-raising tactic.