The big promise made by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez during his re-election campaign last week was that he would place a €150million ($173m; £129m) bid on an exciting, unnamed player.Perez was leaning into his history of signing galacticos such as Luis Figo, Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo. It helped convince the socios (or members) who own Madrid to vote him back in as president on Sunday — the first election contested between multiple candidates at the club in 20 years — ahead of his challenger Enrique RiquelmeThat ploy generated lots of interest among Madrid fans and elsewhere, as many wondered who the mystery target might be. Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise and Paris Saint-Germain midfielders Vitinha and Joao Neves were among those speculated to be the star in question.The Athletic’s Guillermo Rai was among those who wondered whether Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez might be the player, although the guessing games continued throughout most of Tuesday. That was the day Perez had promised to make an offer which, if accepted, he said would be the biggest transfer fee Madrid had ever paid. The club record fee is the €127million they spent on Jude Bellingham from Borussia Dortmund two years ago.At 7.13pm local time, Madrid issued a club statement saying they had bid €150million for Atletico’s Argentina international Alvarez.Madrid’s statement claimed that Atletico had thanked them for the offer but rejected it as it was below the player’s release clause. It went on to say this had all taken place in a friendly atmosphere given the “good relations” between the clubs.Sources with knowledge of the bid — speaking anonymously as they were not authorised to do so, like all those consulted for this story — say Real Madrid will not increase their offer.Which means Alvarez is highly unlikely to be moving to the Bernabeu this summer, but Perez can argue he has fulfilled his biggest campaign promise.Florentino Perez celebrates his reelection as president of Real Madrid (Angel Martinez/Getty Images)Atletico soon released their own “clarifying” statement in response on Tuesday evening — employing a heavy dose of irony while adding “we are not grateful to you for anything”.That statement also claimed (presumably in jest) that Madrid had doctored a video of Pope Leo XIV before he visited the Bernabeu last weekend. “You cut the bit of the Pope’s video where he said he was also an Atleti fan,” it said.Atletico sources told The Athletic they did not believe the bid for Alvarez was a genuine attempt to sign their player.There is always tension between the two biggest clubs in Spain’s capital city, which sometimes bubbles over — as happened when Alvarez’s ‘double-touch’ penalty was controversially ruled out in the Champions League round-of-16 shootout ultimately won by Real last year.Atletico’s statement also referred to constant friction with their city rivals at youth level as they battle for the best prospects into their academies, which can get very bitter at times.Julian Alvarez celebrates scoring against Real Madrid last September (Oscar Del Pozo/AFP via Getty Images)But there is also arguably a benefit for both clubs in how Tuesday evening played out.Madrid mentioning a figure of €150million potentially sets a base price for any sale of Alvarez this summer. That figure is far above the offer of around €100m which The Athletic reported Barcelona were preparing for the 26-year-old last month.Atletico reacted angrily then, too, bristling at what they called “disinformation”, while pretending to offer Bad Bunny tickets at their Metropolitano home ground in exchange for Lamine Yamal.The Atletico hierarchy clearly want to give the impression they are defending their club’s interests and give themselves a PR boost in a summer which could well see the team’s best player leave. Alvarez’s attacking partner and the club’s all-time top scorer Antoine Griezmann is already leaving for Major League Soccer side Orlando City.Perez also gains plenty from Tuesday’s events, as nobody can accuse the 79-year-old of not having kept his headline pledge. The social media row could also draw Madrid socios’ attention away from another big issue during the election: the plans, which are stalled, to sell a stake in the club to private investors.Madrid can now spend their available transfer funds on other players instead. Sources close to planning the squad for returning coach Jose Mourinho maintain they are not aiming to sign another big-name forward and are instead targeting reinforcements in defence and midfield.The big loser from how it all played out appears to be Alvarez. Although there is no suggestion he wanted to move across the city to the Bernabeu, in various interviews during the 2025-26 season he left open the possibility of whether he would leave Atletico this summer.What is not at all obvious, especially after the public spats between Barca and Atletico, and now between Real and Atletico, is where he could actually go.It remains to be seen where Julian Alvarez now ends up this summer (Thomas Coex/AFP via Getty Images)Priced at €100million, Arsenal and PSG could conceivably have been interested in a player who scored 20 goals in 49 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side this past season, with 10 in the Champions League. In 2024-25, he registered 29 goals in 57 matches after joining from Manchester City for a fee of up to €95m that August. Would other suitors want to go above the €150m bid, which it now appears that Atletico have rejected?Barcelona remain interested and believe Alvarez is keen to join, but the Catalans are unlikely to progress any move until after the World Cup. There is an expectation around the Camp Nou that it could be very late in the transfer window before the situation is resolved.It was already a challenge for Barca to reach that €100million figure they were considering, given they remain above their permitted La Liga salary limit (which affects clubs’ abilities to register new players). They must also register Anthony Gordon, already signed from Newcastle United for €80m.It all makes it seem as if Alvarez has become collateral damage in political theatrics across Spain’s three biggest clubs. On Tuesday, hours after the angry exchange of statements concerning his future in Madrid, he was an unused substitute in Argentina’s 3-0 World Cup warm-up win against Iceland in Auburn, Alabama.His current deal is due to expire in 2030, and it now looks fairly likely he will end up staying at the Metropolitano. How his relationship with Simeone, his team-mates and Atletico’s fans has been affected by all the noise over his future also remains to be seen.Additional reporting: Guillermo Rai and Mario CorteganaJun 10, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms