Barça's Álvarez pursuit hits a wall

What Foot Mercato are reporting

Foot Mercato's Thursday bulletin claims Barcelona are moving on multiple fronts in attack, with the Álvarez situation prompting the club to consider backup options. The French outlet does not specify what that Plan B looks like, nor does it explain precisely why the primary pursuit has stalled — so treat this as an early signal rather than a resolved story.

Álvarez is under contract at Atlético Madrid, which has always been the central obstacle. Diego Simeone's side are not known for making life easy in negotiations, and there is no suggestion from Foot Mercato that Atlético have softened their position.

Why this matters for Barcelona

Hansi Flick needs a reliable centre-forward option, and Álvarez — who has been one of the more consistent strikers in La Liga since arriving from Manchester City — fits the profile. If Atlético are holding firm on price or availability, Barcelona's window gets complicated quickly. A Plan B that is unnamed is, for now, just a rumour with a label on it.

The same bulletin references Kylian Mbappé expressing ambitions at Real Madrid, though no direct quote or specific detail is provided. Mbappé having ambitions at the Bernabéu is not exactly a revelation — file that one under things to watch if a source with more detail follows.

The bottom line

This is a single-source report from Foot Mercato with limited specifics, and it needs corroboration before the Álvarez-to-Barcelona story moves into firm territory. What it does tell you: Barcelona are not sitting still, and Atlético Madrid are not making this easy. Those two facts alone say quite a lot about how this window is shaping up.