Former Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has a simple message for Arsenal’s front office: If Atletico Madrid wants £100 million for Julian Alvarez, write the check and move on. No more negotiating. No more shopping around.
Scholes dropped that take on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, and it landed with the kind of blunt force you’d expect from a guy who spent two decades carving up Premier League defenses. His logic is straightforward — top-class center-forwards are scarce, and Alvarez is a proven match-winner.
“If Atletico Madrid want £100m, any big club needs to go and get him. Just go and get him,” Scholes said. “There’s not even a debate. I don’t think there’s loads of top-class centre-forwards knocking about.”
The 26-year-old Argentine reportedly told Atletico he wants out to “fulfil his dream,” with Barcelona lurking in the background. Atletico rejected a £129 million bid in June and insists his release clause sits at £431 million. But Scholes isn’t buying the posturing. He pointed to the £116 million fee for England midfielder Elliot Anderson as evidence that £100 million for a difference-maker like Alvarez is actually a bargain.
Alvarez swapped Manchester City for Atletico in August 2024 for a deal worth up to £81.8 million. Since then, he’s scored 49 goals in 106 matches across all competitions. His first season in La Liga was strong — 17 goals in 37 league games. The 2025-26 campaign saw his league tally drop to eight, but he still finished with 20 goals overall. Not a down year by most standards, just a less flashy one.
What About Gyokeres?
Arsenal already invested about £55 million to bring Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting CP last summer, and the Swedish striker repaid them with 21 goals as the Gunners finally won the Premier League title. But Scholes’ old Manchester United teammate Nicky Butt thinks Alvarez and Gyokeres could form a devastating partnership.
“He would be a perfect partner for an out-and-out centre-forward like Gyokeres,” Butt said.
There’s chatter that Arsenal might offer Gyokeres as part of a swap deal to bring Alvarez to north London. But Gyokeres, speaking during the World Cup, poured cold water on any exit rumors. “Of course it’s flattering to see that clubs are interested but I feel extremely comfortable at Arsenal,” he said. “After the season we have had, I only have positive feelings.”
For context, Arsenal’s record transfer remains the roughly £105 million they paid for Declan Rice in 2023. A £100 million Alvarez deal would slot right in next to that number. And with Mikel Arteta’s squad about to defend its first league title in two decades, adding a versatile attacker who can drift, create, and finish might be exactly the kind of flex that keeps them ahead of the chasing pack.
Alvarez is currently preparing for Argentina’s World Cup semifinal against England. Whether his future gets sorted before that game or after is anyone’s guess. But Scholes made his position clear — and loudly.
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