Barcelona made no announcement: Álvarez was still an Atlético player on 2 August, and in late August the club restated that he would not be sold to Barcelona, as the BBC and Al Jazeera reported.
The market resolves on an official announcement by FC Barcelona (fcbarcelona.com or verified club channels) confirming Álvarez as a Barcelona player on or before 23:59 CET, 2 Aug 2026; La Liga registration is confirmatory. If that source has not published in time, BBC Sport and Sky Sports settle it.
Since 2013, clubs have publicly declared six star players not for sale during a transfer window while rich clubs chased them. We looked at how those standoffs ended. The newest come first.