Barcelona’s high-profile pursuit of Atlético Madrid forward Julián Alvarez has reportedly landed the club in trouble with the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF).
The defending Spanish champions identified the Argentine as their dream replacement for Robert Lewandowski, who left Catalonia as a free agent and joined Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. Barcelona soon laid out a €100 million ($114 million) bid for Alvarez that Atlético Madrid swiftly rebuffed, kicking off a very public, hostile transfer war.