It’s time for another update one everyone’s favorite forward.
Rubén Uría on Thursday revealed that Julián Alvarez feels “disappointed and deceived” with Atlético de Madrid, a feeling cemented by a broken promise to renew his contract last fall — after Atlético had turned down a €120 million approach from Arsenal at the FIFA Club World Cup.
“Julián Alvarez feels like he’s been thrown ‘to the dogs’ in the press” after what he thought was a private conversation with the club became common knowledge, Uría
said. “He hasn’t declared himself ‘in rebellion’, he knows he has a contract and if Atleti decide not to sell him, he’ll return from the World Cup and play for Atleti. Zero problems.”
Back in February, Alvarez and Atlético’s chief executive Miguel Ángel Gil had lunch together and discussed his future, according to Uría. At that lunch, it was agreed that no definitive decision about Alvarez’s future would be taken until the end of the season.
This week, after Atlético’s season ended with a 5-1 loss at Villarreal and a fourth-place finish in LaLiga, Alvarez and his agent Fernando Hidalgo informed Gil that La Araña preferred to leave the club in the summer amid intense, longstanding interest from FC Barcelona. Barça sporting director Deco has made an unofficial bid of €70 million plus Ferrán Torres that Atleti swiftly rejected; according to The Athletic on Thursday, the Spanish champions now are preparing a formal €100 million offer, which is expected to be turned down as well.
For now, Atleti’s position is that Alvarez will not leave the club for less than €150 million.
Uría reports that PSG and Arsenal have expressed interest in Alvarez over the past year; Andrea Berta, Atleti’s former sporting director, signed Viktor Gyökeres as a direct response to Atleti’s flat refusal to negotiate for Alvarez last June. After they shut down talks with Berta, Gil and chairman Enrique Cerezo promised Alvarez a new contract that would make him the highest-earning player at the club.
Alvarez and Hidalgo expected to receive said offer immediately following the summer transfer window. It didn’t materialize until last month, when Mateu Alemany — who had arrived in October — was tasked with untangling the mess that Gil and Cerezo had helped to create. Not that Alvarez was blameless here; in the interim, he stumbled through a lengthy goal drought, going 14 league games without scoring between Nov. 8 and Feb. 28.
Alemany has offered Alvarez a renewal ahead of next season that the Argentina forward now does not want to sign as the siren songs emanating from Barcelona’s machinery continue to attract him. At the moment, Atleti are not planning to sell Alvarez and are letting it be known that there is no economic need to sell the 26-year-old.
Of course, as long as Miguel Ángel Gil is here, the “want” to sell will always trump the “need” to sell.
