Julian Alvarez found himself in disbelief due to the intense hostility he encountered from Atletico Madrid fans on Sunday, leading him to consider Arsenal as a potential destination.
While moving to Barcelona remains Alvarez’s top preference, Atletico Madrid’s steadfast refusal to engage with the Catalan club might force a last-minute solution before the transfer window closes, as the situation becomes increasingly untenable.
Aware of the reception he would receive for his public declaration during the World Cup that playing for Barcelona was his dream, Alvarez faced a chorus of boos from over 60,000 fans before the match began, which continued when he warmed up and again as he entered the game as a 66th-minute substitute.
This scenario paints a vivid picture of an inevitable split between Alvarez and Atletico, although significant challenges remain if the former Manchester City player is to make a return to the Premier League.
To this point, Alvarez has been resolute about maintaining his family’s residence in Spain. Meanwhile, Arsenal harbors some hesitation regarding a player who has shown a strong inclination towards joining Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez’s relationship with the club is broken after he declared during the summer that he wants to move to Barcelona
The Argentine striker was booed on and off the pitch at the Metropolitano on Sunday – and now needs a way out of the club with Arsenal interested
I was commentating on Atletico’s draw on Sunday and along with every commentary team inside the stadium concluded – as he walked away from fans and team-mates – that he had done that on his own accord. But Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said after the match that the club had decided he should not join the rest of the players. ‘The decision was not his,’ said Simeone.
Whoever made the call – and an Atletico Madrid press officer had approached Alvarez and spoken to him before he turned and left the pitch – it only served to further open the wounds that have been festering since the World Cup when he admitted: ‘I can’t hide it, I think the best thing is a transfer so I can fulfill my dream.’
Barcelona have so far only made one offer, two months ago, of £77million plus £8.6million in add-ons to be paid over six years, which Atletico Madrid have dismissed as derisory.
Barcelona could make a second offer this week but they do not have the financial muscle to get close to Atletico’s £130million price tag, and regardless, Atletico are adamant they will not sell to them.
Atletico Madrid’s sporting director Mateu Alemany was in London last week to negotiate a possible move for Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson, that trip doubled up as an opportunity to speak to his opposite number at Arsenal, and predecessor at Atletico, Andrea Berta.
Berta’s Atletico connections would grease the wheels if the two clubs were to try to come to an agreement on how a move to sign Alverez would be structured.
The inclusion of Viktor Gyokeres in any deal would remedy Simeone’s demands for a top-class replacement, though the Sweden striker would not be his first choice in less-rushed circumstances. Simeone is a fan of Jackson and in such a chaotic scenario Chelsea emerging as surprise suitors for Alvarez cannot be ruled out – but it’s Arsenal who have been his long-term admirers.
Just how committed Arsenal would be to the deal if they were encouraged by the player’s camp remains to be seen.
Arsenal are also understood to have some reservations over a player who has made such a big play for Barcelona
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone said after the match on Sunday that the club had decided Alvarez should not join the rest of the players in applauding the fans
Alvarez has not had a good pre-season, evidenced by a pedestrian 25 minutes on the pitch on Sunday. They would also be signing a player who has made no secret of his desire to be at another club.
One precedent that might allay some of those concerns is that of Sergio Aguero. He wanted to move to Real Madrid in 2011 and Atletico were so adamant that it would not happen they sold him for £38million to Manchester City, where he became a club legend.
Atletico’s determination that Aguero would not join Real Madrid pales into insignificance when compared to their refusal to sell Alvarez now to Barcelona. They have reported Barcelona to FIFA over what they believe was completely inappropriate behaviour during key moments of last season.
The versions of Alvarez’s camp and Atletico’s differ wildly but what they agree on is that at the end of last year the player communicated to the club that he was unhappy.
Atletico felt they had gone out of their way to give him the support he and his young family needed. The player became a father in January 2026.
At first they continued to assure him they wanted the team to be built around him. But his response was that he felt Atletico’s style of football did not fit with his and he wanted to move on.
The club have briefed that they then told Alvarez’s agent, Fernando Hidalgo, that they were not going to retain the player against his will but that he would need to come up with the right offer and in the correct manner for them to facilitate his departure.
They wanted nothing to happen that would disrupt their season. They believe that in spite of that condition being set, conversations between Alvarez’s agent and Barcelona took place during the campaign and spiked around the time the two teams met in both the Spanish Cup and Champions League.
Arsenal’s Viktor Gyokeres was an unused substitute for Friday night’s victory over Coventry
Arsenal’s sporting director Andrea Berta used to work for Atletico Madrid and his connections would help grease the wheels of any possible transfer
Bad blood continued to run right up to the start of the Spanish season when Atletico’s CEO, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, said Alvarez had been ‘badly advised’ by Hidalgo and the agent responded by posting on social media: ‘Don’t ask a liar to explain why he lied because he’ll just tell you another lie.’
The player’s £220,000-a-week wages would need to be matched at the Emirates, but Arsenal were prepared to pay far more to Vinicius Junior earlier this summer, while Bukayo Saka is also thought to be on more than £300,000 a week in north London. Real Madrid star Vinicius opted to stay put, such was his commitment to the club that had brought him to Europe.
This is a very different case. It’s difficult to think of another example of such animosity between a club and a player on such a long contract. Alvarez’s deal with Atletico runs until 2030.
The next six days will decide if that animosity has reached such a level that Arsenal becomes not just Alvarez’s reluctant alternative but his only escape route from an unsalvageable situation.