Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez has been linked to Atletico Madrid for several weeks now, but talks appear to have commenced in the last week, and some even report that an agreement has been reached. The 24-year-old is keen to leave Manchester for more game time and family reasons.
Talks appear to have intensified in the last 24 hours, and while in Europe there are reports that a deal is close, Ole in Argentina, as carried by Sport, have reported that the deal is agreed. Their original report was that it would be a fee of €70m plus €20m in variables for City, but have since altered that to €80m with variables included. They also note that Alvarez would retain 100% of his image rights, rather than the 75% he currently gets at City.
💣🚨 MAJOR BREAKING: Julián Álvarez to Atletico de Madrid is being finalized for around €80m plus bonuses. Neither side believes the deal will fall through. He is set to join Atleti in the coming days.
[🎖️: @VicenMuglia, @DiarioOle/@AlbicelesteTalk] pic.twitter.com/AoP3401WeK
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 5, 2024
On the other hand Fabrizio Romano is not yet calling the deal done, but does say Los Rojiblancos are working on completing a deal today. His information is that Chelsea will pay around €40.8m for Samu Omorodion. Diario AS also say that Omorodion’s departure is crucial to the move going through, although they say the fee for the 20-year-old forward could be as much as €50m.
🚨🕷 Atlético Madrid are closing in on Julián Álvarez deal!
◉ Atléti offer more than €75m for Julián to City, working to get it done today.
◉ Chelsea are closing in on Samu Omorodion deal for £35m with Atléti.
◉ Conor Gallagher, set to travel to Madrid today.
Domino ⏳🏁 pic.twitter.com/nH9GzaqRa2
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 6, 2024
The Madrid-based outlet also say that Joao Felix is also considered a source of funding for the Alvarez deal. They have set his asking price at €60m, but are not particularly optimistic about their chances of getting that, despite the interest from Aston Villa.
Ole also say that Alvarez would in part like to move to Madrid due to the visa of some of his family members expiring in England after a two-year period.
If it does get done, then it will be a major coup for Atletico, bringing in one of the best forwards in the world, with a track record of scoring consistently. Since the arrival of Joao Felix, Alvarez would be the first forward to sign for Atletico with the cachet to arrive at any of the world’s top teams.
