Deco: No one can blame us for Álvarez, we did everything by the book

Barcelona's sporting director, Deco, maintains that the Catalan giants acted appropriately throughout the transfer saga involving Atlético Madrid forward Julián Álvarez. The Barça chief asserts that the club never publicly pressured the Argentine to express a desire to leave the 'Rojiblancos'. According to Deco, the controversy was exaggerated by the press, and Barcelona consistently treated Atlético with respect – a sentiment recently echoed by Joan Laporta. The Portuguese director also revealed that Barcelona's offer was for one hundred million euros, payable over three years.

"We did things correctly. We submitted an offer of one hundred million euros, to be paid over three years. We received no response. That's where it ended. The rest was blown out of proportion by the press. We spoke to them respectfully, and they told us they didn't want to sell. There was pressure from the media. We never asked the player to state during the World Cup that he wanted to leave Atlético. That was his decision. If the player wanted to leave, that's not my concern. You cannot say we did anything wrong," Deco stated in an interview with "Radio Catalunya."