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Barcelona president Joan Laporta has publicly confirmed that the Catalan club are still seriously pursuing Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez. Despite strong competition from the Premier League and growing friction between the two Spanish sides, the Blaugrana are not backing away from their main attacking target.

Laporta has now spoken openly about Barcelona’s move for Alvarez, underlining that the Argentina forward remains the club’s leading priority before the transfer window closes. In an interview published on Barcelona’s social media channels on Wednesday, Laporta addressed the transfer saga that has caused tension between the two La Liga heavyweights over the course of the summer.

The 26-year-old striker is under contract at Atletico until 2030, but he has become one of the most in-demand players in the current summer transfer window, with firm interest from Barcelona, Arsenal and Real Madrid. That has come even after the forward publicly said during an interview with ESPN at the World Cup that he wanted to leave the Metropolitano.

Laporta said: ‘Before anything, we have the utmost respect for Atletico de Madrid and a personal appreciation for their executives as well, because we’ve known each other for many years. This whole situation has created a lot of noise. This is not motivated by actions taken by Barca. It is motivated by the fact that Atletico told us they were not selling (Alvarez). However, it looks like, from what we hear now (Atletico reportedly being open to selling Alvarez to Arsenal), they are trying to reach agreements with other clubs. I want to tell Enrique Cerezo, with all the respect because I appreciate him a lot, that Barca have been up to the standards required in this situation, in the same way we do with other clubs.’

The chase for the 26-year-old has also brought controversy. In July, Atletico reported Barcelona to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) over an alleged ethical breach linked to what they viewed as an improper pursuit of Alvarez. Barcelona said they were informed of the complaint at the end of July, which led the RFEF to open an internal investigation.

Laporta continued by saying: ‘It happened to us in this window with Manchester City, as well as other clubs. We approach them to see if they want to sell one of their players. When they tell us they don’t sell, we let it go. But in this case, there are special circumstances that have been made aware Atletico de Madrid want to sell the player to other clubs.’

Expanding on Barcelona’s position, the president added: ‘With this context, our interest and offer for the player remains up until the end of the window, in case Atletico de Madrid want to sell the player. We are very interested in buying Julian Alvarez. We would like our offer to be accepted. We say it with all the respect towards Atletico de Madrid. We want them to know that if they ever are open to selling the player before the end of the summer transfer window, we would be willing to buy him.’

Atletico Madrid have reacted strongly to Barcelona’s very public pursuit of their star forward, issuing a sharp response to the latest comments from the Blaugrana. The Madrid club have insisted that the player will not be sold to a direct domestic rival, no matter what financial offer is made. That rising tension was evident last Sunday when Alvarez came off the bench in Atletico’s 2-2 draw with Villarreal and was booed by some supporters before heading straight down the tunnel after the final whistle.

Atletico said in a statement: ‘The player is being portrayed as the victim, but the only victims in the Julian case are us. We have been harmed both financially and socially. There is a zero per cent chance of selling him to Barca. This situation isn’t about money; it’s about dignity. A campaign full of lies and half-truths have been created.’

For Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick, Alvarez is seen as the ‘dream target’ to spearhead his reshaped attack. The Catalan side are currently lacking top-level forward options after a summer of major exits, most notably Robert Lewandowski leaving at the end of his contract to join MLS club Chicago Fire, while Ferran Torres completed a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain.

Alvarez joined Atletico from Manchester City in 2024 and has delivered consistently since then, scoring 49 goals and registering 17 assists in 106 appearances. Although Real Madrid reportedly had a €150m offer turned down earlier this summer and Arsenal have admired him for a long time, the player’s wish to move to Catalonia appears to be the key factor in the story.