Barcelona Eye Lautaro Martinez as No.1 Target After Julian Alvarez Pursuit Falls Apart

Barcelona’s summer transfer window has taken a dramatic late twist. After spending months chasing Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez and hitting a wall every single time, the Blaugrana have pivoted to a new target — and it is one of the biggest names in world football. FC Barcelona are now interested in Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez, with Deco already having held a meeting with the Argentine’s agent. The question is: can they actually pull it off?

The Story So Far

The Catalan club spent the summer chasing the dream of taking Julian Alvarez from Atletico Madrid and putting him in the Blaugrana shirt, but Atletico have given them nothing but closed doors.

After Julian Alvarez said no, Barcelona have made Lautaro Martinez their top target and have started working on a deal in recent days. According to Gerard Romero, Deco met Lautaro Martinez’s agent, Alejandro Camano, in Madrid in recent days.

The player’s camp have indicated they are open to the Argentine forward moving to Barcelona.

Barcelona’s interest is serious, and the Argentine striker would reportedly welcome the possibility of playing for Barça, although convincing the Italian club will be the most difficult part of the operation.

Deal at a Glance

The Obstacle — Inter Will Not Budge

This is where the dream threatens to die. Reports in Italy and Spain claim that Barcelona are interested in an audacious move to sign Inter captain Lautaro Martinez after their unsuccessful pursuit of Atletico Madrid’s Julian Alvarez, but the Nerazzurri are not expected to even entertain the idea of selling their talisman.

With his latest contract renewal, Lautaro Martinez and Inter agreed to remove the release clause, which was worth €120 million and only active for a limited period. That clause is now gone, so anyone trying to prise the Argentine captain away from Milan will have to negotiate with Inter.

The situation now would appear to be even less likely to proceed, seeing as the Serie A season kicks off this weekend and Inter would need to replace their captain and top player.

In Catalonia, there have been suggestions that Lautaro has ‘opened the doors’ to joining Barcelona, even if arranging a deal with Inter is expected to be complicated, whilst La Gazzetta dello Sport reports that there is no chance of Lautaro leaving San Siro before the end of this summer transfer window.

What His Agent Said Previously

Lautaro Martinez’s agent Alejandro Camano had dealt with this question back in May 2026, saying: “Any call I would receive, from any club in the world, I would listen with respect, but the response would be the same.”

The position since then has apparently softened — at least on the player’s side.

Could Money Change Everything?

Everything will depend on the offer because if it were truly beyond market value then, inevitably, it will at least be taken into consideration — more by the fund for obvious reasons than by the Italian directors.

TNT Sports Argentina also suggest Barcelona could offer up to €100m.

There had been genuine interest in Lautaro from Barcelona several years ago, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, but given that Barça are still in a complicated financial situation and given that Inter do not want to sell their talisman at any cost, especially with less than a week to go before the start of the Serie A season, the chances of him leaving this month seem slim.

Fabrizio Romano’s Verdict

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has denied those claims, confirming that Barcelona have not shown any concrete interest in signing Lautaro Martinez.

The conflicting nature of the reports — with Gerard Romero claiming a meeting has taken place and Fabrizio Romano urging caution — is a reminder of just how complex and uncertain this situation remains with days left in the window.

Who Is Lautaro Martinez?

Lautaro Javier Martínez was born on 22 August 1997 and plays as a forward for Inter Milan. With Inter, he has gone on to win three Serie A titles, three Coppa Italias, and reached the final of the UEFA Europa League in 2020 and the UEFA Champions League in 2023 and 2025.

Lautaro’s 175 goals for Inter make him the third-highest scorer in the club’s history, behind only Giuseppe Meazza and Alessandro Altobelli. A quick, agile and ruthless finisher who also presses and links play, he has twice been Serie A’s Capocannoniere (top scorer), in 2023-24 and 2025-26, and his 38 goals in 80 caps make him a key man for Argentina too.

Player Profile

Career Timeline

Lautaro’s Honours

Throughout his career, Lautaro Martínez has won 13 titles: Serie A (2025/2026, 2023/2024, 2020/2021), Supercoppa (2023/2024, 2022/2023, 2021/2022), and Coppa Italia (2025/2026, 2022/2023, 2021/2022) with Inter and Copa America (2024 USA, 2021 Brazil), World Cup (2022 Qatar), and CONMEBOL/UEFA Finalissima (2022) with Argentina.

Last Season at a Glance (2025-26)

In the 2025/2026 Serie A season, Lautaro Martínez recorded 17 goals, 6 assists, 2,178 minutes, and an average FotMob rating of 7.47. He was Inter’s top scorer across all competitions with 22 goals.

What This Means for Barcelona

Barcelona already have Lewandowski leading the line, but the Polish striker turned 38 in August. Lautaro Martinez would add plenty to Barcelona’s attack straight away, with his proven quality, his experience in major competitions and his leadership.

This is hardly the first time that the Blaugrana have made an approach for the Argentina international, and it has never really gone beyond initial discussions. The clock is ticking on the transfer window — and on Inter’s patience.

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