Barcelona's Pursuit of Julian Alvarez Nears Collapse

Barcelona’s long pursuit of Julian Alvarez is on the brink of collapse, and the timing could hardly be worse.

The new La Liga season starts this weekend, Barcelona open against Elche on Sunday, and as of now the squad does not contain a single recognised striker. For a club built on attacking flair, it is a jarring reality.

All summer, Alvarez has been the chosen one. The name at the top of every internal list. The forward the sporting department have pushed for, again and again. But Atletico Madrid have not budged. The stance from the capital has remained firm: Alvarez is not for sale.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Barcelona will launch one last push. One more attempt to break Atletico’s resistance, and then that’s it. No more calls, no more proposals. The club have reportedly set a tight deadline — just the next two or three days — to either close a deal or finally walk away.

If Atletico still refuse to open the door, Barcelona will turn to Plan B.

The problem? Plan B has never really been one name. It has been dozens. The market has thrown up option after option, and the rumour mill has kept spinning. Every few days a new striker appears on the radar, is debated, then drifts away again.

Now Ayoze Perez is the latest to be linked. His name has joined the long list of possible alternatives, another forward floated as a solution to a problem that has dragged on for months.

The Alvarez saga has dominated Barcelona’s summer, overshadowing almost everything else. But the clock is ticking, the season is here, and the club can no longer afford to wait.

In the next 72 hours, Barcelona must decide: keep chasing the impossible, or finally move on and rebuild their attack without the man they wanted most.