Rumous are circulating that suggest Liverpool could make a transfer bid for a forward who was a hit at Manchester City not so long ago.
Across the 2022/23 and 2023/24 seasons, Julián Álvarez was a vital and arguably underappreciated member of a Manchester City side that won everything. Erling Haaland took all the headlines for his goalscoring exploits, but the Argentine’s sense of space and technical quality made him a vital cog in Pep Guardiola’s unstoppable machine.
Since leaving the Etihad for Atlético Madrid in the summer of 2024, Álvarez’s stock has only grown. He left to become the headline act at a major club and has succeeded, scoring 29 goals in all competitions in his debut season. Despite that, however, there are increasingly loud mutterings suggesting that the 25-year-old isn’t entirely happy in the Spanish capital – and that he could move at the end of the current season.
A recent story from Spanish outlet Fichajes is just one of several to claim that both Barcelona and Liverpool are interested in signing Álvarez – but how realistic is such a deal, and why would he want to leave Atlético in the first place?
Last weekend, Atlético Madrid’s slow start to the 2025/26 season continued with a disappointing 1-1 draw away to a Mallorca side that have yet to win a game in La Liga. Álvarez, who wasn’t at his best and missed both a penalty and a fine chance from open play, was substituted in the second half.
Why Julián Álvarez could leave Atlético Madrid already
All fairly normal, of course, but there had already been several stories circulating in the Spanish media which suggested that the Argentine was frustrated by the frequency with which Diego Simeone was taking him off, and this time the cameras caught Álvarez shaking his head in apparent disbelief. The amateur lipreaders of the world seem convinced that he was muttering “always me” to himself as he sat down in the dugout.
A storm in a teacup in itself, but that sits alongside claims by notorious Spanish magazine show El Chiringuito that the player himself is frustrated at not being “given the place he feels he deserves” in Madrid, with alleged members of Álvarez’s inner circle supposedly stating that Simeone “doesn’t know how to handle a world football star.”
Further fuelling speculation that Álvarez could leave Atlético are claims that the club want to extend the player’s contract, just a year since he signed, in order to keep interested parties at arm’s length. Over a month after those stories first circulated, no new deal has been struck. Given that Álvarez is already under contract until 2030, there will be little incentive for him not to take a pay rise unless he was intent on leaving.
Of course, the supposed rift between striker and manager may be rather narrower than suggested by all the scandalous stories and it may simply be that either a new deal was never proposed or that Álvarez’s team are negotiating for better terms. But for those who want to find reasons for the Argentine to leave, they are being provided…
Will Liverpool sign Álvarez next summer?
The other half of the equation, of course, is whether sides like Liverpool and Barcelona actually make a move to sign him next summer should the chance truly arise. That’s far from certain.
From Liverpool’s perspective, they have just spent an astronomical sum on Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak and Huge Ekitiké that could constrict their future spending while negating the need for a player of Álvarez’s profile. Should Wirtz continue to struggle, of course, the need may become rather greater, but they do not have a pressing need for a number ten or a centre-forward.
Atlético are also highly unlikely to sell him for anything less than a small fortune. Never a team to let their players leave for reduced fees, they spent €75m (£65m) up front on Álvarez with another €20m (£17.5m) potentially due through add-ons. With the player under contract for five more years, they will only sell if it is financially beneficial for them – or, perhaps, if the player leaves them with no choice.
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The size of the transfer fee that would likely be involved is likely to be enough to knock a cash-strapped Barcelona out of the running altogether, and may be too much for Liverpool. There is seldom an easy path to a transfer of this scale.
Even if Liverpool can afford to make the move, they are likely to find Atlético a tough team to negotiate with, especially given that Álvarez remains a key player for them despite all the fractiousness.
The smart money is on Álvarez remaining at the Metropolitano for a little while yet – but stranger things have happened, and if the Spanish gossip columns have their facts straight for a change, then perhaps the Argentine really will be working to force a way back to the Premier League earlier than expected.