Soccer-'Alvarez is in the past', says Deco as Barcelona embrace Raphinha reinvention

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Atletico Madrid v Real Madrid - Riyadh Air Metropolitano, Madrid, Spain - September 20, 2026 Atletico Madrid's Julian Alvarez on the bench before the match REUTERS/Juan Barbosa

OEIRAS, Portugal, Sept 24 (Reuters) - Barcelona ⁠sporting director Deco slammed the door on a renewed pursuit of striker Julian Alvarez on ⁠Thursday after a summer chase that ended in frustration, and, unexpectedly, a new life for Raphinha ‌as a centre forward.

Barcelona had spent the close season searching for a number nine after Robert Lewandowski left as a free agent for Major League Soccer, with Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid's Alvarez high on their list.

But Deco, speaking to reporters ​at the Portugal Football Summit, said both paths had led nowhere.

"The ⁠idea has always been to bring in ⁠a forward with good movement and the ability to link up with others, and Julian (Alvarez) was one such ⁠player," ‌Deco said.

"It hasn't been possible; we made an offer... the club has always said they wouldn't sell him, so we have to look for other solutions."

"Julian (Alvarez) is in the past; we have to ⁠look ahead, and we're happy. I hope he's doing well too, ​that he's helping his club," Deco ‌added on whether the club would pursue the Argentine again in the mid-season transfer window.

Barcelona president ⁠Joan Laporta had ​spoken publicly about the club's interest in Alvarez in the close season, drawing an angry reaction from Atletico chief Miguel Angel Gil Marin, who accused the Catalan club of dishonesty and said the Argentine would "never, ever" be sold to them.

Barcelona eventually ⁠signed Gabriel Jesus as a rotational option for Hansi Flick's ​squad, but the surprise solution has come from within, with captain Raphinha moving from his hybrid attacking midfielder-right wing role into the centre forward position.

The Brazil international has exploded there, scoring 14 goals in eight matches, 12 in ⁠seven games in LaLiga, moving to the top of the scoring charts ahead of Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe.

"We are happy because we discovered a new face of Raphinha," Deco said. "But more important is that he's happy too.

"It is different for him, because sometimes he's not in contact with the ball all the time like ​he used to. He needs to be prepared to attack behind the defenders.

"We ⁠expected that he could do well, but not at this level."

Deco said Lautaro had also been seriously considered, but ​Barcelona quickly backed away once Inter made clear their captain was ‌not available.

"At one point, amongst the strikers we were ​looking at, Lautaro was one of them," Deco said. "The moment the club told us he wasn't available, we didn't even try or discuss it any further."

(Reporting by Fernando KallasEditing by Christian Radnedge)

Thank you for your report!

足球 - 西甲联赛 - 马德里竞技对阵皇家马德里 - 西班牙马德里利雅得航空大都会球场 - 2026年9月20日 马德里竞技球员朱利安·阿尔瓦雷斯赛前坐在替补席上 路透社/胡安·巴博萨

葡萄牙奥埃拉斯，9 月 24 日（路透社）——巴塞罗那体育总监德科周四否决了再次追求前锋朱利安·阿尔瓦雷斯的计划。此前，巴塞罗那今夏的追逐以失败告终，而出人意料的是，拉菲尼亚作为中锋迎来了新的生活。

在罗伯特·莱万多夫斯基以自由球员身份加盟美国职业足球大联盟后，巴塞罗那在休赛期一直在寻找一名九号球员，国际米兰队长劳塔罗·马丁内斯和马德里竞技的阿尔瓦雷斯都是他们的首选目标。

但德科在葡萄牙足球峰会上对记者表示，这两条路都走不通。

“我们的想法一直是引进一名跑位灵活、善于与队友配合的前锋，而朱利安（阿尔瓦雷斯）就是这样一名球员，”德科说道。

“这不可能；我们已经提出了报价……俱乐部一直表示不会出售他，所以我们必须寻找其他解决办法。”

“朱利安（阿尔瓦雷斯）已经是过去式了；我们必须向前看，我们很高兴。我也希望他一切顺利，能够帮助他的俱乐部，”德科补充道，并被问及俱乐部是否会在赛季中期转会窗口再次追求这位阿根廷球员。

巴塞罗那主席胡安·拉波尔塔在休赛期公开表示俱乐部对阿尔瓦雷斯感兴趣，这引起了马德里竞技主席米格尔·安赫尔·吉尔·马林的愤怒反应，他指责这家加泰罗尼亚俱乐部不诚实，并表示这位阿根廷人“永远、永远”都不会被卖给他们。

巴塞罗那最终签下了加布里埃尔·热苏斯，作为汉斯·弗里克球队的轮换选择，但令人惊讶的解决方案来自内部，队长拉菲尼亚从他混合型的进攻型中场-右边锋角色转变为中锋位置。

这位巴西国脚在那里爆发，8场比赛打入14球，在西甲联赛7场比赛中打入12球，超越拉明·亚马尔和基利安·姆巴佩，跃居射手榜榜首。

“我们很高兴，因为我们发现了拉菲尼亚的新一面，”德科说。“但更重要的是，他也很高兴。”

“对他来说情况有所不同，因为他有时不像以前那样能一直触球。他需要做好准备，伺机突破防守队员的防线。”

“我们预料到他能表现出色，但没想到能达到这个水平。”

德科表示，劳塔罗也曾是巴塞罗那的认真考虑对象，但当国际米兰明确表示他们的队长无法出战后，巴塞罗那很快就放弃了这个想法。

德科说：“我们一度考察过几名前锋，劳塔罗就是其中之一。但俱乐部告诉我们他不能加盟后，我们就没有再尝试或讨论这件事了。”

（费尔南多·卡拉斯报道，克里斯蒂安·拉德内奇编辑）

感谢您的报告！