Alvarez publicly declared his willingness to transfer. Barcelona may make an offer soon

Barcelona's long-running bid to sign Julian Alvarez could soon be approaching a decisive moment after the Argentine striker publicly opened the door to a summer exit from Atletico Madrid. There has been information for weeks that the striker has been hinting in private conversations with Atletico's authorities that he wants to take up a new challenge. Now that moment seems near. Following Argentina's 2-0 victory over Austria at the World Cup, Alvarez gave the strongest signal yet that his time at Atletico Madrid was coming to an end. He did not hide his feelings when commenting on what was to come in his career. Explaining his position, he said: "The best solution for everyone will be a transfer. I want to fulfill my dream."  Alvarez added that he had already held talks with Atletico authorities behind the scenes. "It's not the time to talk about it, but I can't hide it. I try to be an honest person and I've already talked to the people I need to talk to." The words will certainly put pressure on Atletico Madrid, which has so far insisted that Alvarez is not for sale, despite growing interest from European giants. Barcelona's admiration for Alvarez is no secret. The Catalan club sees the Argentine as one of the best strikers who will be able to lead their attack in the coming years. Importantly, Barcelona had already tried to test Atletico's resolve by submitting an offer of €100 million. However, this proposal did not cause any reaction from the Madrid club. Despite this, Atletico did not want to talk about the transfer at all, firmly betting that Alvarez was not available. However, the situation may be changing as public comments from players on such matters often carry weight and Atletico's management will have to take into account that Alvarez's departure has become more likely following such comments.