Real Madrid Officially Confirm the Mystery 150m Euros Player

Last week, ahead of the Real Madrid presidential elections, Florentino Perez confirmed to the media that the club would make a 150 million Euro bid for a player on Tuesday (today).  

He specified that the player did not play in the Premier League, and played for a club in the UEFA Champions League club. He confirmed that it was not Harry Kane nor Michael Olise. 

Despite those words from Perez, a lot of reports came out suggesting the bid was indeed for the latter. There was also suggestion that it could be one of PSG's Portuguese midfield duo of Joao Neves and Vitinha. 

Well, we now have official confirmation that it was indeed none of the three aforementioned players. Indeed, as a bombshell has been dropped by the club: Julian Alvarez of Madrid rivals, Atletico Madrid. 

In a statement released this evening, the 6th of June 2026, the club 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 Atlético de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julián Álvarez.

After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Club Atlético 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." 

Wow, wow, wow. There was indeed some talk of late, especially this morning, of Alvarez, But it still felt crazy nevertheless. There were still people assuming that it would be someone like Neves, Vitinha or Olise. 

It still feels crazy that they would go for Alvarez. Before we go into his merits as a player, to try for someone from your local rivals, and after Barcelona the club you hate the most, feels crazy. When was the last time someone directly transferred between the two clubs? 

Now, onto the player himself. Although there is no doubt the forward is a decent player, he scored eight goals in La Liga last season, and two of those were penalties. Some may refer to Diego Simeone's style of play, and how it does not suit attackers. But, Alexander Sorloth scored 13 times in La Liga, without a single penalty, in the same team, and with fewer minutes. So can it be an excuse? Not really.

Although his record in the UEFA Champions League was pretty good, it still does not feel like a good fit, at all. People complain about Kylian Mbappe's lack of box presence, but Alvarez is no better in that regard. He is not really an out and out striker.

Madness, all round. Wow!