In recent months, Julian Alvarez’s name has been associated with Barcelona, who are seeking to sign a new striker next summer due to Robert Lewandowski’s expected departure upon the expiry of his contract. And their chances of getting a deal done for the Atletico Madrid man could be set to increase.

Alvarez has been in excellent form for Los Colchoneros since joining from Man City in the summer of 2024, having scored 36 goals in 68 appearances across all competitions. However, his strikes have brought little success to Diego Simeone’s side, who went trophyless last season, and have made a slow start to the current campaign.

And according to Sport, Alvarez has made it clear that he wants to win titles at Atleti, and he wants at least one to come their way by the end of this season. If that does not happen, he would be inclined to seek a move away next summer.

Atleti have spent well in excess of €300m since last summer, including the €95m spent on Alvarez himself. Despite this, they have struggled to close the gap to Barcelona and Real Madrid, although they did defeat the latter in emphatic fashion earlier this season, with a 5-2 victory at the RiyadhAir Metropolitano.

Nevertheless, Atleti already face an eight-point deficit to Real Madrid in La Liga after only nine matchdays, while in the Champions League, they have lost two of their three opening league phase matches (3-2 vs Liverpool, 4-0 vs Arsenal).

Atleti can hold on to some hope with Alvarez

Even if it ends up being another trophyless season for Atleti, and that subsequently causes Alvarez to seek a departure, they would find solace in the fact that Barcelona would almost certainly not be able to afford their €100m+ asking price. However, there could be another club that comes in instead, with Liverpool among those to have also been credited with an interest.