Arsenal have begun to feel growing anxiety over Barcelona’s superiority in the race to sign Julián Álvarez, after the Argentine striker moved closer to appointing an agent with strong ties to the Catalan club.
According to Sport, Álvarez is on the verge of entrusting his future to Pablo Barquero, the agent who played a pivotal role in Rodri’s transfer from Manchester City to Barcelona following the World Cup.
Julián recently ended his professional relationship with Fernando Hidalgo, who had managed his career since he was 15 years old, following a turbulent summer during which he failed to fulfill his desire to leave Atlético Madrid and move to Barcelona.
Javier Pastore’s name initially emerged as a candidate to manage the player’s affairs before Barquero’s negotiations advanced, with Julián and his family becoming convinced that he is the right person to guide his next step—though this does not necessarily mean an agreement with Barcelona is already in place.
Arsenal have been monitoring the dossier for months, and Mikel Arteta believes that Álvarez’s movement, goalscoring ability, pressing, and versatility across multiple attacking positions would give the team solutions that a traditional striker alone cannot provide.
The potential move is also linked to the London club’s lack of complete conviction in Viktor Gyökeres’s output, as Arsenal could consider parting ways with him if they succeed in reaching an agreement with Atlético Madrid, leveraging their financial muscle to pull off a massive deal.
Sport reports that Atlético might currently consider offers approaching 120 million euros rather than 150 million, even though CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín insisted in the summer that the club did not accept 100 million and would not accept 150 or 200 million, reflecting the difficulty of negotiations and potential shifts in stance over time.
The 26-year-old Julián boasts an exceptional record including a World Cup, two Copa América titles, a Champions League, and six trophies with Manchester City. However, the factor Arsenal fear most is not money or titles, but the player’s previously stated priority: wearing the Barcelona shirt.
