Atletico Madrid insist there is “0% chance” of selling Julian Alvarez to Barcelona after club president Joan Laporta said they remain interested in signing the forward.
Alvarez has been the subject of intense transfer speculation this summer, and after being booed by Atletico supporters on Sunday during their draw with Villarreal, the 26-year-old missed training on Wednesday.
Reports say Alvarez was unwell, and Atletico have now condemned Laporta’s latest video, published on Wednesday, which said Barcelona’s reported €100m (£85.7m) offer remained on the table.
“This is not about money, it’s about dignity. The player is being victimised, but the only victim in the Julian case is us,” Atletico said.
“They have harmed us economically and socially. There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca,” Atletico continued.
“There is a campaign of many lies and half-truths. The only one paying for this is Atletico."
In the video, Laporta said the club had great respect for Atletico but the bid they lodged earlier this summer was still on offer.
Sources at Barcelona say they will keep trying to sign Alvarez, who joined Atletico from Manchester City in 2024, until the transfer window ends.
The comments come as weeks of increasingly complicated negotiations and public disagreements between the two clubs.
It also comes as Arsenal continue to show interest in the striker, who is viewed as the Gunners’ dream transfer target.
But sources close to the situation say Alvarez still wants to stay in Spain.
Alvarez’s Arsenal dilemma amid summer’s most bitter transfer tussle
For now, Arsenal are sitting back and watching this unfold, as they become more realistic about their chances of signing Alvarez before next week’s transfer deadline.
Alvarez started on the bench on Sunday but was jeered while warming up and there were even louder boos when he came on in the 66th minute.
He headed straight down the tunnel at full-time, rather than joining the rest of the team who were applauding the fans, which drew more boos.
Atleti boss Diego Simeone suggested afterwards that it was a pre-agreed club decision for the forward to head straight to the dressing room.
Speaking before Barcelona’s match against Athletic Club on Thursday, head coach Hansi Flick declined to discuss Alvarez directly, saying: "I only want to speak about the situation of the club."
With deadline day approaching on 1 September, the war of words continues and the Argentine World Cup winner’s future remains one of the biggest talking points of the transfer window.
The first offer on the table came from Barcelona in May, with reports suggesting the club had opened talks to sign Alvarez.
But in what seems to be a recurrent pattern, Atletico were absolutely adamant that they would not sell Alvarez to Barcelona.
In May, they made a series of social media posts brutally mocking Barca’s pursuit of their player to millions of followers, saying they were victims of a “smear campaign”.
Alvarez went to the World Cup with Argentina with his future already a major talking point.
Again, Atleti’s city rivals, Real Madrid, made a €150m (£130m) offer for Alvarez after president Florentino Perez promised supporters that he would make a €150m bid for an unnamed "Galactico" if re-elected.
The offer was rejected by Atletico, with Real Madrid pointing to Alvarez’s €500m (£430m) release clause and saying Atletico had "expressed its gratitude for the proposal".
Again, Atleti responded with humorous social media posts, denying any gratitude and remaining adamant that Alvarez would not be sold to Barcelona.
After Argentina’s win over Austria in June, Alvarez told media that he had spoken to Atletico and he said that "the best thing for everyone is a transfer", adding: "I want to fulfil my dream".
Those comments effectively confirmed that, despite Atletico’s insistence that he was not for sale, the player himself was open to leaving and Barcelona and Paris St-Germain were among the clubs reportedly interested.
Barcelona’s interest in Alvarez was driven by their need for a long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski, who left the club this summer.
But Atletico maintained they did not want to sell Alvarez, with chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin saying the club would not sell him "even for 200m euros (£170.8m)"
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Source: BBC Football
