Atletico Madrid Firm on Julian Alvarez Amid Barcelona Pursuit
Atletico Madrid have drawn a thick red line through Julian Alvarez’s name on Barcelona’s shopping list – and they are not rubbing it out.
Club sources are adamant there is “0% chance” of selling the Argentina forward to Barca, a stance hardened by Joan Laporta’s latest public push and a €100m (£85.7m) offer Atletico insist is going nowhere.
Atletico fury as Laporta keeps pushing
The tension has been building all summer. Alvarez, 26, has sat at the centre of a storm of rumours, and the mood around him turned toxic on Sunday when sections of the Atletico support booed him during the draw with Villarreal.
He began that game on the bench, was jeered as he warmed up, and the volume rose when he came on in the 66th minute. At full-time he went straight down the tunnel instead of staying on the pitch to applaud the fans with his teammates. The whistles followed him off.
Diego Simeone later said it was a pre-agreed club decision for Alvarez to head directly to the dressing room, but the optics only fuelled the noise.
On Wednesday, with Alvarez missing training amid reports he was unwell, Laporta released a new video insisting Barcelona’s €100m bid remained on the table and stressing the Catalan club’s “respect” for Atletico.
Atletico’s response was blistering.
“This is not about money, it's about dignity. The player is being victimised, but the only victim in the Julian case is us,” the club said. “They have harmed us economically and socially. There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca. There is a campaign of many lies and half-truths. The only one paying for this is Atletico.”
The war of words, simmering for months, is now boiling.
Barca won’t back off, Arsenal wait, player leans Spain
Barcelona sources maintain they will keep trying until the window closes. Alvarez, signed from Manchester City in 2024, is viewed at Camp Nou as the long-term heir to Robert Lewandowski, who left this summer. The need for a new centrepiece in attack is obvious; Barca see Alvarez as that figure and refuse to walk away.
Hansi Flick, speaking before Barcelona’s game against Athletic Club on Thursday, refused to be drawn into the saga, saying only: “I only want to speak about the situation of the club.” The pursuit, though, continues in the background.
Arsenal are also in the picture. Inside the Emirates, Alvarez is regarded as the dream signing to elevate Mikel Arteta’s forward line. For now, though, the Gunners are watching from a distance, increasingly realistic about how hard it will be to prise him away before next week’s deadline.
Sources close to the situation say Alvarez still wants to stay in Spain. That preference keeps Barcelona in the fight and leaves Arsenal effectively on standby, hoping the chaos in Madrid somehow opens a door.
A saga months in the making
This stand-off did not begin with Laporta’s latest video. It has been building since May.
Barcelona’s first offer arrived then, with talks reported to have opened over a move for Alvarez. Atletico’s answer was blunt: absolutely not. The club doubled down on social media, mocking Barca’s pursuit and describing themselves as victims of a “smear campaign” to unsettle their striker.
The message was clear – and public. Alvarez was not for sale to Barcelona.
Then came Real Madrid.
In June, Florentino Perez followed through on a campaign promise to bid €150m (£130m) for a “Galactico”, and Alvarez was the chosen target. Real pointed to his €500m (£430m) release clause and lodged the offer.
Atletico rejected it. Real Madrid later said Atleti had “expressed its gratitude for the proposal”, a line that drew another round of pointed, humorous posts from Atletico’s accounts. Any suggestion of gratitude was dismissed. The stance remained: Alvarez would not be sold to Barcelona, and Real’s money was not enough either.
All the while, Alvarez’s own future hovered over Argentina’s World Cup campaign. After their win over Austria in June, he told the media he had spoken to Atletico and that “the best thing for everyone is a transfer”, adding: “I want to fulfil my dream.”
Those words cut through Atletico’s “not for sale” mantra. They confirmed what the market already suspected: the player was open to leaving. Barcelona and Paris St-Germain were among the clubs linked as potential destinations.
Still, Atletico held firm. Chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin even declared the club would not sell Alvarez “even for 200m euros (£170.8m)”.
Deadline day closing in
Now, with deadline day looming on 1 September, the saga has turned into one of the defining stories of the window: a World Cup winner, a fanbase split, a president pushing through videos, and a club digging in around the idea of dignity and control.
Barcelona insist their €100m offer stands. Atletico insist there is “0% chance” of doing business with them. Arsenal lurk, calculating. Real Madrid have already been turned away once.
Somewhere in the middle of it all is Julian Alvarez, booed by his own fans, missing training, and waiting to discover whether his dream lies away from Atletico – or whether this transfer window closes with him still in red and white, and an entire stadium to win back.
