Real Madrid president Florentino Perez promised the fans prior to being confirmed as the winner in the elections that he would be bidding 150 million euros on a Galactico and make an ernest effort to sign a player on the level of Zinedine Zidane or Cristiano Ronaldo and transform this team further.
While he denied the signing would be Michael Olise from Bayern Munich, which led to many wondering if he could be going for Jorge Mendes midfield clients Joao Neves and Vitinha from PSG, journalists said that Olise was indeed the obsession that Perez was talking about.
But a second, alternative Galactico has emerged in a surprising form, as Real Madrid are actively pursuing Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez. A former transfer target of their back in 2022 when he was at River Plate, Alvarez won the treble with Manchester City and has since found himself back in La Liga, replacing Antoine Griezmann as the face of the Atletico attack.
Barcelona have been in on Julian Alvarez for longer
Barcelona, though, have been interested in the Argentinian international for longer, and according to Foot Mercato's Santi Aouna in a quote to Madrid Xtra, the Blaugrana should still actually be regarded as the favorites for Alvarez despite Real Madrid's recent interest in the versatile striker.
Aouna said of Julian Alvarez and the latest transfer rumors, “Julian Alvarez? No confirmation from Real Madrid or Atletico or from the players camp. Unless that changes, I think it’s still Barcelona for him.”
The thing is, maybe the information that Santi Aouna is working off of has changed, because reporters in Spain (Aouna is based in France, by the way) are saying that both Alvarez is open to a move and Atletico Madrid are even open to a sale if Real Madrid really are bidding that 150 million euros.
Realistically, Real Madrid only have the money and the space in the squad to pay for one of Alvarez or Michael Olise, and the latter is both the better player and the better fit, given Real already have Kylian Mbappe at striker. And while some Madridistas would be willing to sacrifice Mbappe for Alvarez, it is impossible to envision Mbappe moving; other clubs may not value him as highly as Florentino Perez does, as Florentino loves the Frenchman and would seemingly never sell.
Barcelona are formidable opponents for Alvarez, of course. They have a gaping hole at striker, whereas Real Madrid may not even start Alvarez as a No. 9, unless they are totally shifting their formation or getting rid of either Vinicius Junior or Kylian Mbappe to bring him in, which would be unwise.
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