Atl\u00e9tico Madrid are preparing a contract proposal that would elevate Juli\u00e1n \u00c1lvarez to the club\u2019s highest-paid player as a response to reported interest from Arsenal and Barcelona.<\/p>\n
According to MARCA, Atl\u00e9tico are inclined to convert a current uncertainty into certainty by offering \u00c1lvarez a net salary of $11.5 million per year, up from his present $8.1 million. That net figure is understood to translate to a gross sum in the region of $21.4 million annually, which would match the club\u2019s top earner, Jan Oblak.<\/p>\n
Talks have not formally begun, though \u00c1lvarez is believed to be aware of Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s thinking. The Argentine finds himself in a position of power ahead of a potentially decisive summer transfer window. \u201cMaybe yes, maybe no, you never know,\u201d he helpfully added.<\/p>\n
Arsenal and Barcelona have both been linked, but their financial circumstances differ markedly in the report. Arsenal, backed by Premier League resources, recently made Bukayo Saka the club\u2019s highest earner with a wage equivalent to $20.7 million a year. The Gunners are reportedly obliged to sell this summer to remain compliant with Premier League financial rules after multiple years of heavy outlays and limited offsetting income. Since the 2021\u201322 campaign, only one club in world soccer has recorded a larger net spend than Arsenal.<\/p>\n
Barcelona\u2019s position has been more constrained. The club have been described as so cash-strapped they removed free breakfasts for academy players in recent years. President Joan Laporta inherited significant financial problems stemming from mismanagement and the COVID-19 pandemic, but Barcelona have used palancas to channel available funds back into the playing squad. As Johan Cruyff once said: \u201cThe money should be on the pitch. Not in the bank.\u201d<\/p>\n
That approach has funded Robert Lewandowski\u2019s sizable salary, reportedly around $27.6 million. Lewandowski is out of contract this summer and is set to move on, creating a potential squad and accounting vacancy that the reports suggest \u00c1lvarez could fill if Barcelona pursue him.<\/p>\n
The immediate outcome remains uncertain, but Atl\u00e9tico\u2019s reported plan is clear: use a substantial pay rise to retain \u00c1lvarez and deter rival suitors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Atletico intent on a major new contract for Julian Alvarez to match top wages and deter rivals this.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10206,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[192,1035,1017,1148,1163],"tags":[1446,1317,826],"class_list":["post-10207","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arsenal","category-atletico-madrid","category-barcelona","category-highest-paid-players","category-transfers","tag-academy","tag-accounts-2025-26","tag-bukayo-saka"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10207","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10207"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10207\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10206"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10207"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10207"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.weplayfpl.com\/news-articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10207"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}