Barcelona began chasing Atletico Madrid's Argentine striker Julian Alvarez several months ago, first exploring the possibility last year.
The weeks are passing and the deal remains unfinished. Hansi Flick wants to know which players he can count on for the 2026-2027 season as soon as possible, and his patience is starting to wear thin. According to "Marca", Barcelona are keeping him calm.
Officials inside the club are confident the tactic of piling on pressure and wearing down the opposition will soon pay off, both with the player and with Atletico Madrid.
Alvarez sits as Barcelona's top target to replace Robert Lewandowski as the most advanced man in the attack. Coaches, executives and board members alike still believe they can land the Argentine, even after Atletico rejected the Catalan club's offer.
The pressure Alvarez himself can apply is seen as decisive, Barcelona officials say.
Joan Laporta, president of the Catalan club, spoke on the matter a few days ago: "When a player wants to leave, Barcelona's position as a club is that we will make it easy for him if he wants to leave Barcelona. A big club cannot afford to have unhappy players."
According to the newspaper, the Argentine striker is weighing up skipping Atletico's training on 10 August, the day Diego Simeone has set for the World Cup runner-up to report back.
Barcelona believe Atletico will eventually cave. That conviction rests not only on the stance the Argentina international, determined to join Barcelona, will take in the coming days, but also on the shape of the offer itself. Despite its hefty value, it falls short of Atletico's demands, with the club asking for a release clause worth 500 million euros, and it carries an expiry date. Capping the offer is one of the pressure tactics Barcelona's management have deployed.
Atletico's board, though, are holding firm and refusing to sanction the transfer, even after the player openly declared his wish to leave during his run with Argentina at the 2026 World Cup. They do not want to blame him for his stance and decision, leaning instead on his agent, wary of straining ties with a professional they hope to keep in their ranks.