Real Madrid announced they have had a €150m (£129m) bid for Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez rejected.
Florentino Perez promised that the club would attempt to sign a €150m player if he was re-elected as club president.
Perez was announced as the winner in the early hours of Monday morning, and in a statement released on the club’s website, they revealed that the attempt had fallen short, with Atleti citing the Argentine’s €500m release clause.
The statement said: “Real Madrid C. F. announces that, following the meeting of the Board of Directors held today, it has made an offer of 150 million euros to Club Atletico de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julian Alvarez.
“After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Club Atletico de Madrid has expressed its gratitude for the proposal, made within the framework of the good relations between both clubs, and has rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.”
Alvarez is also believed to be a top target for Barcelona, who are looking to add to their attacking ranks following the signing of Anthony Gordon.
Atletico have accused Barcelona of running a smear campaign amid reports of a potential bid for the Argentine.
Perez’s ‘galactico’ promise to fans
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Sky Sports reporter Gary Cotterill is in Madrid as Florentino Perez is elected as Real president – what does that mean for Jose Mourinho and potential signings this summer?
Before being re-elected as club president, Perez promised supporters that he would make an offer for a ‘galactico’ immediately after retaining his position.
His claim came after his challenge, Enrique Riquelme, promised to sign Erling Haaland if elected. He went as far as to showcase a shirt with the player’s name on the back, leading the Premier League club to consider taking legal action.
There was some speculation that Perez’s target would be Michael Olise, but this idea was shot down by Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer was insisted the Frenchman was not for sale.
Speaking to Spanish TV station Horizonte, the 79-year-old said: “On Tuesday or so, I’m going to make an offer to a major Champions League club for a great player. It would be the largest transfer fee Real Madrid has ever paid in its history.”
“Olise is a great player but it’s not Olise. It’s not [Jeremy] Doku either.
“We’re going to make a significant offer, at least around €150m. He needs to be a player from midfield who can go forward. And it’s not Haaland.
“The player is not from the Premier League. And the first thing we’ll do is talk to the club. It’s a signing meant to generate excitement because that’s what it’s all about, generating excitement.”
Perez’s re-election is also set to be the trigger to confirm the re-appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager, with it being confirmed that interim boss Alvaro Arbeloa will leave the club.
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Jamie Carragher gives his verdict on the news that Jose Mourinho is set to make a return to Real Madrid.
The signings of Ibrahima Konate and Denzel Dumfries are also set to be announced.
Barcelona keen on Alvarez, but how can they afford him?
Analysis from Sky Sports’ Lyall Thomas:
Barcelona’s £69.3m signing of Gordon and the big-money pursuit of Alvarez has raised questions over how they can afford such expenditure.
The Spanish side were unable to register new signings until the last minute a year ago, but now they seem to have an abundance of cash for three key positions: striker, winger and centre-back.
The financial rules around how much clubs can spend in Spain work slightly differently from the UK. It is based on revenue and a squad-cost ratio, but they are set by LaLiga on a bespoke basis.
Alvarez finished the 2025/26 season with 20 goals and nine assists from 49 games
The key to Barcelona’s ability to spend now is a return to what is called the 1:1 rule. Every Euro the club saves can be reinvested directly back into the squad on either transfer fees or wages. It was not the case before, when just a fraction of anything saved could be re-spent.
Another crucial change is that Robert Lewandowski has left the club and so they are now saving around €40m a year in wages, while they are currently not having to factor in covering any of Marcus Rashford’s wages next season.
That might change, but Barcelona are also looking to sell some players, which will free up more finances. They offered Ferran Torres, for example, informally to Atletico as they seek a solution to signing Alvarez.
But it is not just the vacation of previously allotted funds that has changed things – it is also increased revenue due to the growth of the Spotify Camp Nou.
The stadium has been renovated and will soon reach a new capacity of 80,000, while the final capacity is expected to be more than 100,000.
That projected future revenue, as well as the sponsorship from Spotify, as well as winning LaLiga again, is all factored in when the budget for Barcelona’s spending is set by the league and means they have money to throw at some exciting players this summer.
