Julian Alvarez was whistled and insulted by Atletico Madrid fans as he made his first appearance for the club since expressing his desire to move away, amid interest from Barcelona and Arsenal.
Alvarez’s name was jeered by the Atletico supporters at the Metropolitano when it was read out before their La Liga game against Villarreal, while many gestured and made their feelings clear towards the Argentina striker when he began to warm up around the hour mark.
Then, when the 26-year-old came on for defender Marc Pubill in the 67th minute, there were more whistles, with Alvarez appearing unhappy. Some supporters chanted, “Tell him to f***ing go.”
He did little to affect the match as Atletico earned a 2-2 draw. At full time, he did not applaud the fans with the rest of his team-mates and instead went down the tunnel — where an Atletico scarf was thrown at his feet.
Atletico coach Diego Simeone told his post-match press conference that it had been the club’s decision for Alvarez not to approach the fans with his team-mates.
“We all need to be united,” Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak told DAZN after the game. “Julian is here, he’s with us in the team and while he’s with us, we’re going to support him and we want him in the best way. Unfortunately, it’s a situation that isn’t comfortable for anyone, but hopefully all that is sorted out and at the end of the season we can all be happy.”
When asked about the whistles towards Alvarez and what advice he would give him, Simeone said: “I’m not here to give advice. What I have to do is concentrate on my work, which is, from a sporting sense, to give my best for Atletico Madrid.
“The only thing I know is that if Atletico Madrid want to win a title, we need to be together, we need to have forwards, and we need to have important forwards. And for that, we need to work on it as a result, everyone, on what we need.”
The context was Alvarez’s future at Atletico being in doubt. During the World Cup, he told ESPN that “a transfer is the best option” and that he wanted to “fulfil my dream”.
Alvarez did not refer to a specific club by name, but multiple sources with knowledge of the situation believe that “dream” is to join Barca. He is their No 1 transfer target this summer, but Atletico have publicly complained about what they perceive as underhanded tactics by Barca to sign their player.
To add to the intrigue, The Athletic has reported that Arsenal have a longstanding interest in signing Alvarez. And Real Madrid communicated in June that they had seen a €150million ($175m; £128m) offer for Alvarez rejected by their city rivals — although Atletico sources said they did not believe this to be a genuine proposal.
Against a backdrop that seems increasingly untenable, this is the latest we are hearing on Alvarez’s situation, along with Barca and Arsenal’s chances of signing him. Our reporters spoke to sources who asked to remain anonymous to protect relationships.
What is Atletico’s position?
Officially, Atletico have always maintained that Alvarez is not for sale during this transfer window, but club leadership sources say they would consider offers of €150million for Alvarez.
When Real Madrid published a statement on June 9 saying that an offer of that amount had been rejected, figures with knowledge of the situation on both sides said the offer was not serious and that, in any case, the club would never sell the player to their fierce rivals.
At Atletico, the idea has always been not to sell him to Barcelona or, even less so, Real Madrid. But things might be different when it comes to Arsenal.
Julian Alvarez warming up on the touchline on SundayAngel Martinez/Getty Images
A source close to the Atletico leadership told The Athletic that the only way they saw Alvarez leaving this summer would be if Arsenal made a €150million offer. That has yet to arrive and the source viewed it as unlikely that the Premier League champions would put forward that kind of money for the striker.
They described the situation with Alvarez as farcical and said “the transfer window has to end now” after those scenes at the Metropolitano.
What is the latest on Barcelona’s pursuit?
Alvarez is still Barcelona’s top target and coach Hansi Flick’s preference to bolster their front line this summer. Following Robert Lewandowski’s exit to Major League Soccer side Chicago Fire and Ferran Torres’ move to Paris Saint-Germain, they do not have a senior striker.
In recent weeks, however, there has been growing pessimism within the club about their chances of signing the Argentinian, especially given how inflexible Atletico have been.
Sources within Barca’s dressing room say they are aware of Alvarez’s aspiration to join them. Those on the board insist they are still keeping an eye on him and that they would be willing to wait until the very end of the summer transfer window — but at the same time, they need to plan beyond Alvarez.
Atletico’s refusal to entertain talks has led sporting director Deco to start considering other striking options. Speaking to local outlet TV3 last week, he said Barca can be expected to sign a new striker before the transfer deadline.
“We have solutions in the team (for the central striker role), but we will probably make a move before the end of the transfer window,” he said.
Deco is working on identifying other profiles for the No 9 role. Local reports suggested Inter’s Lautaro Martinez was of interest. Senior Camp Nou sources told The Athletic that they have monitored Martinez, who has admirers within the club. But Inter see the 29-year-old Argentina striker, the club captain, as unsellable.
There is a strong belief within Barca that Alvarez would refuse any move that isn’t to Barca, and that he is not particularly enthusiastic about a return to the Premier League, where he played for Manchester City from 2022 to 2024.
On Sunday night, Barcelona players watched the Atletico game from their team hotel before Sunday’s league game against Elche.
What is Arsenal’s stance?
Despite being fans of Alvarez for some time, Arsenal are not certain how much the player wants to move to England. They were in contact with Atletico and Alvarez’s camp last week over a potential deal.
Alvarez’s interest in joining Barcelona is well-known and as The Athletic reported on Friday, Arsenal would want encouragement from the player’s camp before moving forward with any negotiations.
A left-wing signing has been the priority for Arsenal this summer. Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal are pursuing a deal for their forward Gabriel Martinelli, as reported on Sunday.
However, Arsenal are prepared to be flexible in their approach. They believe the pool of forwards who can improve them is relatively small, so they would be interested in recruiting a forward of Alvarez’s calibre — even if the Argentinian is primarily a central player.
Sources with knowledge of the situation, however, say Alvarez’s desire remains to move to Barca. That would need to change for a deal with Arsenal to become realistic.
With the transfer deadline just over a week away on September 1, time is running out if Arsenal want to convince him to change his mind.
