Atletico Madrid have every intention of keeping Julian Alvarez and building their team around him, with Diego Simeone ranking the Barcelona target as one of the top five players in the world.

Alvarez's future has been the subject of fierce debate in recent weeks, after he told Atleti he wishes to leave and "fulfil his dream" of representing Barca.

The Blaugrana have subsequently confirmed they have made an offer for the Argentine's services, but Atleti – who had already knocked back a bid from rivals Real Madrid – have reacted furiously and reported their overtures to FIFA.

Alvarez, who has a release clause of €500m, contributed to 29 goals (20 goals, nine assists) in 49 games for Atleti in 2025-26 (not including the Club World Cup), the fifth-most among LaLiga players.

Since his debut for Los Colchoneros on 19 August 2024, Alvarez has scored the most goals (49), had the most shots (238) and registered the joint-most assists (17) among Atleti players.

And Simeone is desperate to keep the 26-year-old as the attacking fulcrum of his team for 2026-27 and beyond. 

"He is the player we, as a club and as a team, envision as someone to build our play around," Simeone told ESPN Argentina.

"This is what we have been doing since he arrived, and it remains our thought."

Simeone also believes there are barely a handful of players on the planet better than Alvarez, who is currently on World Cup duty with Argentina. 

"He is definitely among the top five, no doubt," Simeone added. "He has improved [since joining Atleti]. 

"The numbers speak for themselves. From the moment he arrived, I had the feeling we had signed a really important player, and he has proven that to be the case.

"It's very hard to find the attacking quality he has added to the team in another player."

Atleti are due to open their LaLiga campaign at home to Malaga on the weekend of August 15 or 16, with their first meeting with Barca in 2026-27 set for early November.