Laporta believes Barcelona have 'moral obligation' to sign Alvarez

2 Jul 2026 16:58 BST | 4 min read

Suraj Radia | Editor

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Joan Laporta believes he has a ‘moral obligation’ to bring Julian Alvarez to Barcelona this summer despite Atletico Madrid’s insistence that they will not sell their star man to their La Liga rivals at any price.

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Alvarez made a public plea to leave Atletico Madrid last month, which has prompted a furious reaction from the La Liga giants after Barcelona’s public pursuit of the player.

Current ETV

Julián Álvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

Julián Álvarez

F (C)

Atlético Madrid

ETV Range

€101.7M - €124.3M

Barca have had numerous proposals of around €100 million rejected by Atletico, while their players such as Lamine Yamal have been vocal about their desire to see Alvarez play alongside them.

Laporta gave an in-depth interview this week where he tried to diffuse the situation amid threats from Atletico that they would report Barca to FIFA for their conduct, although the Catalan’s president admitted he would still try and push for a deal.

And a report by ESPN claims that Laporta believes he has a ‘moral obligation’ to Alvarez after the 26-year-old’s public declaration about wanting to leave Atletico, while the threats over a report to FIFA are described as ‘tedious’ and ‘doesn’t even faze’ the Barca president.

Instead, Laporta is said to see the situation as a ‘battle that he ‘thrives on’ and that he is willing to get ‘down and dirty’ to argue with Atletico and bring his number one target to Barcelona this summer.

Atletico facing tough call with Alvarez transfer after Barcelona persistence

Atletico find themselves in a difficult situation, having declared that they will not sell Alvarez to Barcelona at any cost aside from his €500m release clause.

© IMAGO - Julian Alvarez wants to join Barcelona.

Yet Alvarez has so far shunned interest from Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain as he only has eyes for Barcelona and it remains to be seen whether the situation can be resolved before the summer’s end.

Alvarez’s relationship with Atletico Madrid and manager Diego Simeone is thought to be at breaking point, even with the forward having four years still on his contract.

Speaking this week, Laporta said: "[Barça sporting director] Deco made an offer of a certain amount of money for [Álvarez], who has wanted to join us since he was at City.

"I spoke with [Atlético CEO Miguel Ángel] Gil Marín. He told me they were not planning to let him go, but the offer is firm and we stand by it.

"It remains on the table and the deal could still go through, but the offer is not open-ended. Atlético said no because they didn't have a replacement. If they get one, we will see."

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