Barcelona Pursues Rodri and Álvarez as Transfer Window Closes
Barcelona are not blinking. With just over two weeks left in the summer transfer window, the club remain locked on to two names – Rodri and Julian Alvarez – and, for now, refuse to seriously entertain alternatives.
Inside the club, according to Mundo Deportivo, there is no debate about the plan. The hierarchy is convinced both deals can still be done and that these final days of the market will be shaped around landing two headline signings for Hansi Flick.
Rodri deal enters key phase
Of the two operations, Rodri is the one Barcelona see as closest.
The midfielder has reported back to Manchester City after his summer break, yet in Barcelona they are working under one central belief: he wants to join Flick’s project. That conviction underpins the club’s confidence that the deal will move forward in the coming days.
The problem, as always with Barcelona in recent years, is the money.
City are holding firm on a package of around €80 million. Barcelona know their second offer falls short and will have to be improved, but there is no intention to simply meet that figure outright. Instead, the Catalans are shaping a proposal that leans heavily on bonuses and add-ons, aiming to push the total value towards roughly €70 million.
City have already rejected previous approaches and are waiting for that improved bid. The English champions have not given anything away publicly, and the player’s future is still not settled. Yet in Barcelona, the expectation, per the same report, is bold: they believe the Rodri transfer can be wrapped up by next week.
The pressure is on. The window is shrinking. Barcelona are betting that the player’s desire to move will help bridge the financial gap.
Álvarez saga tangled in Atlético resistance
If Rodri is the operation they think they can close, Julian Alvarez is the one turning into a tug-of-war.
Here, the obstacle has a name: Atletico Madrid. The Spanish club have taken a hard line on the Argentine striker, making negotiations far more complex than those with City over Rodri.
Barcelona still sense an opening. They are convinced Alvarez has not let go of his ambition to wear the Blaugrana shirt and that his stance could become the decisive factor as the clock ticks down.
The 26-year-old is expected to keep pushing for an exit in the coming days, searching for a way out from Atletico to Camp Nou. His attempt to draw Diego Simeone into the process, hoping the coach might ease his path to the door, has so far led nowhere. Simeone’s involvement has not delivered the green light Alvarez wanted.
Even so, his desire to move has not shifted.
Right now, Barcelona’s hopes rest heavily on that player power. Atletico’s position remains rigid, but the club believes sustained pressure from Alvarez could eventually bend the negotiations in their favour.
Two weeks. Two targets. One club gambling that the will of Rodri and Alvarez can crack the resistance of Manchester City and Atletico Madrid.
