Advantage Arsenal: Gunners in pole for Julian Alvarez as ‘crazy clause’ revealed

Robin Bairner

• 28 Mar 2026 07:30 CDT
• 4 min read

News

Arsenal have been informed of a clause in Julian Alvarez’s Atletico Madrid contract that puts them in a strong position to land the World Cup winner during the summer transfer window.

Alvarez is hotly linked with a move away from Atleti come the end of the season, with the 26-year-old having struggled to hit top gear for Diego Simeone’s side in recent months, leading to an extended spell on the bench.

Despite this, the former Manchester City forward still boasts an Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) of €129 million, while he has attracted interest from both Arsenal and Barcelona.

Julian Alvarez’s ‘crazy clause’

Arsenal have been thrust into a strong position to sign the Argentine thanks to what Fichajes describes as a “crazy clause” in his current deal.

While Alvarez is Barcelona’s top target to replace Robert Lewandowski, who is set to leave Camp Nou when his contract expires at the end of the season, he has a €500 million release figure in his deal with the Madrid side.

This benefits Arsenal because on the open market, they are in a far stronger position to negotiate for Alvarez than Barca, who are struggling to even find €30m to buyout Marcus Rashford’s loan from Manchester United.

While the Catalans are naturally willing to commit more of their budget to signing Alvarez, who would be a key player compared to Rashford as a bench player, the reality of the situation at Camp Nou is that they will struggle to compete for mega-money stars like the South American.

Arsenal would have to commit a huge sum of money to signing Alvarez in the summer – more than €100m – but they have proved an ability and willingness to make such deals.

Atletico Madrid fight back with ‘flagship’ contract offer

Atleti are unwilling to allow Alvarez to depart, despite the forward having scored only one La Liga goal since 1 November – the winning goal against bottom side Real Oviedo.

Marca reports that they are willing to offer the player a new deal worth around €10 million per season, which would make Alvarez the best paid player at the club. Antoine Griezmann is leaving for Orlando City, so Simeone’s side plan to make the player their “flagship” star.

The Madrid source claims that there is “optimism” around the Wanda Metropolitano that Alvarez will end the dreams of Arsenal and Barcelona by signing this new contract.

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