According to Marca, Barcelona is still determined to sign Alvarez and believes the player is interested in joining.
Despite Atletico Madrid's strong reluctance to let go of the striker, and other European giants joining the competition, Barcelona remains keen on signing Alvarez. Barcelona hopes to integrate him into their team plans and is banking on the Argentine international's willingness to don the red and blue jersey. The club offices believe that he will not become one of those high-profile players that Barcelona previously held advanced negotiations with, came close to signing, but ultimately failed to secure.
Alvarez is a key target for Barcelona. Both Deco and Flick believe that he is the ideal striker to strengthen the attack after Lewandowski's departure. Barcelona initiated contact several months ago, but due to Atletico Madrid's reservations about facilitating the transfer, progress has been slower than expected, even with the player explicitly asking the club to facilitate his move to Barcelona. Other clubs like Paris joining the competition has also made this signing more difficult to finalize.
However, Barcelona's hierarchy remains calm. They know that Alvarez is willing to join Barcelona, and there is still plenty of time in the transfer market. Furthermore, with the arrival of Anthony Gordon, Barcelona has already made some reinforcements to their attack. Both Barcelona's management and technical staff hope that the Argentine international will not join that long list: Barcelona has negotiated with many excellent players and advanced to a deeper stage, but they ultimately never wore the red and blue jersey.
This summer, Barcelona has already been dealt a blow with Bastoni. In the past two summers, one of the most prominent cases was Nico Williams. Barcelona was once convinced he would join, but the player changed his mind at the last minute. This rejection still stings the offices of Spotify Camp Nou and the training ground.
However, like other clubs, Barcelona also has a long list of stars they came very close to signing, but the deals fell through for various reasons. For example, in the deals for Pogba, Verratti, or Di María, insurmountable financial disagreements arose between the clubs; Rabiot's demands for a signing bonus as a free agent were deemed unacceptable by Barcelona; there were also players who chose plans they found more attractive, such as De Ligt choosing Juventus and Beckham choosing Real Madrid; other players hesitated and then decided to renew, like Ander Herrera; Barcelona also backed out at the last minute due to doubts after receiving technical reports, as in the case of David Luiz, or due to injuries causing Barcelona concerns at the end, such as Diego Costa and Marco Reus.
In any case, Barcelona does not look back, they only look to the future, and they believe that Alvarez will be part of Barcelona's plans for the 2026-27 season.