Barcelona handed dream Alvarez chance as talks emerge over €170m transfer

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Suraj Radia | Editor

Barcelona could be handed their dream transfer window after the door was opened for a deal worth €170 million and potentially unlock the signing of Julian Alvarez.

Alvarez remains Barcelona’s top target and the Catalan side are hopeful that Atletico Madrid will soften their stance and consider their offers for the Argentine international despite them rejecting a €150m bid from Real Madrid earlier this month.

Barca have already signed Anthony Gordon from Newcastle for €70m and Hansi Flick’s side want to add a natural striker to replace Robert Lewandowski, with all resources focused on Alvarez.

Although Barcelona are in a better financial position than previous seasons, they have so far not been able to tempt Atletico into parting ways with Alvarez even with the player keen to move to Catalonia.

Alvarez is valued at €135m plus €15m in add-ons by Barca but alternatives such as Eli Kroupi and Mikel Oyarzabal are being considered.

However, Barca could receive a significant windfall this summer that may allow them to improve their offer for Alvarez after interest re-emerged in Raphinha from Saudi Arabia.

Raphinha offered lucrative chance to leave Barcelona for Al-Hilal

Brazilian outlet ge globo report that Al-Hilal have identified Raphinha as one of their main targets for the summer transfer window, having attempted to sign the winger two years ago with a similar approach.

Raphinha had been offered a four-year contract worth 1.1 billion Brazilian Reais, which is around €170m, which would have reportedly quadrupled the 29-year-old’s Barcelona salary.

It is claimed that Al-Hilal have already reached out to Raphinha to inform him of their interest again, however the Brazil international has insisted he will not consider a move until after the 2026 World Cup despite the Saudi side being keen to accelerate talks.

Raphinha is said to have been ‘emphatic’ upon learning of the interest, having previously spoken about the impact of the offer from 2024.

Speaking in October last year, Raphinha said: "The offer we received from Saudi Arabia really swayed me; it would solve my personal life, my parents', my son's, and many other people's problems.”

It remains to be seen how much Al-Hilal would offer Barcelona to sign a player deemed crucial to Flick’s plans and with two years remaining on his contract but the La Liga side would likely only agree a deal if it allowed them to sign Alvarez and a replacement for Raphinha.