Atlético Madrid playfully mocked Barcelona regarding their interest in forward Julián Álvarez by posting humorous offers for Barça players Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Raphinha on social media.
According to ESPN on Thursday, Barça is optimistic about signing Álvarez after discussions with the Argentina international’s representatives, who mentioned that the player preferred them over other options, including Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.
However, a transfer for Álvarez is anticipated to be complex, as he is under contract with Atlético until 2030, with a substantial release clause of €500 million ($584 million).
Sources from Atlético informed ESPN on Friday that they had not received any official offer from Barcelona for Álvarez and expressed discontent regarding the Catalan club’s pursuit.
Later on Friday, Atlético playfully posted on X (formerly Twitter) with mock transfer offers for three of Barça’s star players: wingers Yamal and Raphinha, and midfielder Pedri.
“HERE WE GO! We’ve sent a fax to Barcelona with our transfer proposal,” the club tweeted, featuring an image of Yamal in an Atlético shirt.
“Four tickets to tomorrow’s Bad Bunny concert, an annual subscription to [Spanish newspaper] ABC, and a bag of sunflower seeds. We look forward to your response to prepare the ‘announce’.”
Popular artist Bad Bunny is scheduled to kick off a ten-night concert series at Atlético’s Metropolitano stadium on Saturday.
Shortly after, Atlético shared another post with an image of Pedri, also in an Atlético shirt.
“For this second offer, we encountered a little issue — we ran out of tickets for tomorrow’s concert,” the club stated on X. “So our revised proposal includes six for the Sunday show instead.”
A third post featured Brazil international Raphinha.
“To complete the 3×1, we’ve gone a bit overboard,” the club said. “We’re offering the player on a one-season loan, and in return, we loan out Tom Ford and Smith, with no option to buy. An offer too good to refuse.”
“Tom Ford” and “Smith” refer to a blunder by Atlético president Enrique Cerezo, who mistakenly identified them as Atlético players during a meeting with the two clubs in the Copa del Rey.
The club further jested in a social media post on Instagram: “We live in an age where reality can be distorted. Don’t believe everything you see, especially if it’s related to Barça.”
– Barcelona is hopeful about signing Julián Álvarez, believing he favors them over Arsenal and PSG – sources
– Griezmann may not have won LaLiga, but he remains an Atlético legend
– Bernardo Silva is a ‘real option’ for Barcelona amid interest from Atlético and Benfica – source
Álvarez had an impressive season, scoring 10 goals in Atlético’s journey to the Champions League semifinals and adding eight more in La Liga.
This isn’t the first time Atlético and Barcelona have contended for a star player, as both clubs were involved in the contentious transfer of Antoine Griezmann to Barça in 2019.
Reports from Rodrigo Faez contributed to this article.