Barcelona Pursues Julián Álvarez Amid Raphinha's Success
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are still trading blows over Julián Álvarez. The Catalans won’t let the idea go. Atletico won’t even sit down to negotiate.
The stand-off has dragged on long enough to irritate the Madrid club, but inside Barcelona the mood is far from tense. According to Spanish newspaper El País, Raphinha is steadily proving Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco right.
Their internal bet was clear: if neither Álvarez nor Inter’s Lautaro Martínez could be prised away, there was no striker on the market who would genuinely improve what Barcelona already had.
They tried anyway. They pushed hard for Álvarez and continue to do so, a pursuit that has helped sour relations with Atletico. Deco also picked up the phone to test the waters with Inter over Lautaro. That enquiry ended quickly. The response from Milan convinced him there was no point wasting time chasing a deal that simply wasn’t there.
So the club turned back to what was already in-house.
Raphinha, usually a winger, started the league campaign as an out-and-out No 9 against Elche. He scored twice. Flick went with the same idea against Athletic Bilbao. Raphinha scored again.
The Brazilian’s impact has backed up Flick’s conviction that roles matter less than performance.
“I do not care in which position Raphinha plays, what matters to me is what he shows on the pitch,” the coach said. “The fans connect with him and with the team. We have a great atmosphere, and that is the most important thing. What matters is how the press begins.”
With Raphinha delivering and the team winning, the Álvarez saga has slipped down Flick’s list of priorities, at least in public. The coach refused to be drawn on the stalemate with Atletico.
“I do not want to comment on matters of this kind. We won our second match in a row, and that is what matters to me,” he said.
For now, it looks like Barcelona will have to accept a summer without Julián Álvarez. Their main attacking addition instead is Rodri, who was warmly applauded by the Camp Nou crowd, as El País reported.
Barcelona still want a marquee striker. Raphinha, though, is making that search feel a little less urgent with every goal.
