Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed that his club have made an offer for Julián Alvarez, brushing off Atlético Madrid’s fury over the transfer saga while insisting his rivals are being “inflexible.”The reigning La Liga champions earmarked Alvarez as their first choice in the transfer market this summer, as they pursue a replacement for the departing Robert Lewandowski. Barcelona’s interest was met with anger from Atléti’s side back in May, with the Madrid club publishing a series of social media posts with joke bids for Barça players, including the offer of Bad Bunny concert tickets, an annual subscription to the news site ABC and bag of sunflower seeds in exchange for Lamine Yamal. Meanwhile, a Machiavellian €150 million ($175 million) bid for Alvarez from Real Madrid was also swiftly rejected by Atlético.HERE WE GO! Hemos enviado un fax al @FCBarcelona_es con nuestra oferta de traspaso: 4 entradas para el concierto de Bad Bunny de mañana, una suscripción anual al ABC y una bolsa de pipas. Esperamos ansiosos la respuesta para preparar el ‘announce’. pic.twitter.com/e0J7mPljHa— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) May 29, 2026Atlético’s public ire has not been enough to quash the story, with Alvarez publicly stating his desire to change clubs. Speaking openly after Argentina beat Austria at the World Cup, the forward gave a surprise update: “The best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfil my dream.“It’s not the time to talk about this, but I can’t hide either,” he added. “I try to be an honest person. I spoke with people at Atlético Madrid, and I think a transfer is best for everyone.”ESPN reports that Atlético are “furious” and “blame” Barcelona for Alvarez going public, while the club has since filed complaints with FIFA and the Spanish soccer federation over Barça’s conduct.Laporta Confirms Barcelona’s OfferJoan Laporta is not backing away. | Josep Lago/AFP/Getty ImagesBarcelona president has not been put off by Atlético’s actions. Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Laporta confirmed his offer to reporters and insisted he remains interested in doing a deal.“Let me state upfront that we continue to have great respect for Atlético,” Laporta said, via MARCA. “The tweets were before Julián stated that he wants to play for a big team. He didn’t mention Barça. Some interpreted it as Barça, and others didn’t. We didn’t force this. It was the player himself. “We made an offer, club to club. We understand that they’re not selling because they don’t have alternatives. When they have alternatives, if they want to, and this offer is still valid, we’re interested in making the transfer.”On Atlético reporting Barcelona for tapping up their player, Laporta said: “I don’t see the logic behind this. All of Atlético’s representatives are very experienced, and I don’t know what their strategy is. They have our offer. If they want to accept, we’d be delighted.“Atlético is being completely inflexible, and I hope they’ll change their minds and accept. If they don’t, they should say so, and we’ll see. But taking it to UEFA, FIFA ... I don’t know what the point is. Maybe there are people looking to stir things up. it doesn’t make sense.”He added: “I’ve spoken with Atlético and made it clear what we want. [Barça sporting director] Deco made an offer. We know the player wants to come to Barça, and has for a long time. We made this proposal with all due respect to the Madrid club. We’ll maintain this offer for as long as we deem necessary. We won’t be at their mercy. If they want to make the move, we’d be delighted. The offer isn’t open-ended.”What Happens Next for Alvarez?Julián Álvarez is currently with Argentina at the World Cup. | Pablo Morano/BSR Agency/Getty ImagesESPN reports that Barcelona’s offer is north of €100 million ($114m), and Alvarez’s preference is to move to the La Liga champions over other suitors such as Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal.Current Barcelona players such as Fermín López, Gavi and even Yamal have added fuel to the fire by ‘liking’ social media posts reporting the latest on the story and with comments to the press while on World Cup duty.Atlético, however, could not have been more clear so far in their intention not to sell, instead pointing to the player’s prohibitively high €500 million ($569 million) contractual release clause—a price tag more than double the world-record transfer fee.But with neither side backing down, this saga is set to run and run, potentially all the way to the end of the transfer window on September 1. Ultimately, as much as Atleti fight, forcing a player to stay against his wishes rarely works out well in the long run.READ THE LATEST BARCELONA NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow