Real Madrid have entered into a transfer battle with Barcelona after announcing they have had a €150 million ($173m) bid turned down for Atlético Madrid forward Julián Álvarez.
Madrid president Florentino Pérez, who was re-elected on Sunday until 2030, had announced last Friday he would make a €150m offer for a player this week.
Following a board meeting on Tuesday, Los Blancos confirmed that bid had been tabled for Álvarez, who is also a target for Clásico rivals Barça, as well as Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain.
Atlético responded immediately saying that they “would not consider” any offers for Álvarez.
“We announce that, following the meeting of the board of directors held [Tuesday], the club made an offer of €150m to Atlético Madrid for the federative rights of Álvarez,” Real Madrid said in a statement.
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“After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Atlético expressed gratitude for the proposal, made within the framework of the good relations between both clubs, and rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.”
Álvarez, who has a contract until 2030 and a release clause of €500m ($577m), is set to be the subject of one of the biggest transfer sagas of the summer.
ESPN previously revealed that Barça are targeting the striker as Robert Lewandowski’s replacement after tying up a €70m ($81m) deal for England winger Anthony Gordon in May.
However, Barça’s interest in Álvarez, which reportedly led to a €100m ($115m) bid, was met with anger by Atlético, who responded with a series of derisory social media posts in which they slammed the Catalan club for “calculated leaks, fake news and constant disrespect.”
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ESPN have also previously reported that Champions League finalists Arsenal and PSG are both also keen on the former Manchester City man.
Atlético’s response to Madrid on Tuesday was in a similar tone to the one which they sent to Barça.
“You must have confused education with gratitude, but to leave no doubt: We don’t thank you for anything,” the club posted on social media.
“We neither study nor consider any offer for Julián. How could we not get along with you [Real Madrid], when you make us laugh even more than Barça do.”
Madrid’s bid for Álvarez comes as relations become increasingly strained with Spanish champions Barça.
Madrid chief Pérez recently sent a document to UEFA asking European football’s governing body to investigate Barça for payments made to the former vice-president of the refereeing association in Spain, José María Enríquez Negreira.
Barça paid companies related to Negreira over €7m ($8m) between 2001 and 2018, but say it was for referee-analysis reports and technical advice.
Madrid’s dossier argued the Negreira case reflects systemic refereeing corruption benefitting Barça and asked UEFA to consider sporting sanctions, strip titles and potentially exclude them from European competitions.
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Barça’s acting president Rafa Yuste hit back on Tuesday, saying the Blaugrana will fight back by taking legal action of their own.
“[Madrid] can’t stomach all the titles we have won,” Yuste said. “Our legal department has prepared the action we will take against them and against their president. He has resorted to slander to destabilise us.
“We will see them in court. No one will tarnish the name of Barça. We will take care of it. We will go after them because we have the upper hand. Do you really think they can threaten us by saying they’ve sent 500 pages to UEFA? You’ll see.”
