Alvarez meets Barca again after historic change at Atletico Madrid – could transfer saga reignite?

Julian Alvarez to Barcelona was one of the biggest transfer stories of the summer window, but a deal ultimately proved impossible. On Sunday, the Argentine will face his suitors for the first time since that saga, with his Atletico Madrid future now looking rather different.

Even before the 2025/26 season had ended, rumours were rife that Barcelona would target Alvarez as their replacement for Robert Lewandowski.

A bid in the region of €100 million was made and then left on the table by Blaugrana president Joan Laporta, who refused to accept defeat.

This was rejected out of hand by Atletico Madrid, who delivered a mocking social media response indicating they had made a bid of “4 tickets for the Bad Bunny concert, an annual subscription to ABC, and a bag of sunflower seeds” for Lamine Yamal, and instead pointed to their star’s €500m release clause as the only way of taking him from the club.

Real Madrid also had a €150m offer knocked back for Alvarez, who took time off in pre-season to deal with the mental strain of the situation.

When the Argentine returned, he was initially jeered by fans, having gone public on his desire to leave for Barca, and only Barca.

But this has set the tone for a stop-start beginning to the campaign in which Atleti’s success has revolved more around Alex Baena, Alex Grimaldo, Giuliano Simeone and Jonathan David than anything the former Manchester City man has done.

This is the backdrop upon which Alvarez approaches Barcelona’s visit to the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday.

It’s Atleti’s most important game of the league season to date and would see them go top if they were to win. With the return match against Barca scheduled for less than a month away, it would also be an important psychological boost at a pivotal point of the season.

For Alvarez, it presents an interesting personal challenge, not least because there are ongoing doubts over his form.

With two goals and two assists in 11 appearances this season, the 26-year-old is understandably far from his peak. But in La Liga terms, at least, the slump has been prolonged. Alvarez only has two league goals in the space of 12 months.

What does this mean for his future at Atletico Madrid?

For the moment, that is unclear. Simeone has started him in four successive games, indicating that his coach retains faith in his abilities, which are more extensive than his goal return would suggest. But there has, nevertheless, been a drop-off in his performance.

That uncertainty is now reflected in Alvarez's Estimated Transfer Value (ETV), which fell to €103m over the course of October. It represents a historic single-month drop of €10m, the biggest decline of his career.

And Barcelona’s perspective has shifted, too. While the club remains in the market for a centre-forward, they have found a successful solution in the form of Raphinha, who has scored 19 times in 13 matches.

The Alvarez saga could yet reignite in the latter stages of the season. By then, Atletico's position, Barcelona's needs and the Argentine's own form could all look very different.

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