August 23, 2026, Madrid, Madrid, Spain: Julian Alvarez of Atletico de Madrid looks on during the Spanish League, LaLiga EA Sports, football match played between Atletico de Madrid and Villarreal CF at Riyadh Air Metropolitano stadium on August 23, 2026, in Madrid, Spain.
Credit Image: © Oscar J. Barroso/AFP7 via ZUMA Press Wire
The Julian Alvarez saga has remained one of the main talking points of this summer transfer window. FC Barcelona have been trying to sign the player for the entirety of the window, and the player himself has been pushing hard for a move. However, Atletico Madrid have simply refused to negotiate with the Blaugrana club for a transfer.
With only a few days left in the summer transfer window, new developments are taking place in this operation. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the latest reports on this matter indicate that the Argentine player was not present as Atletico Madrid trained for their upcoming game against Sevilla, and was not even present at the club facilities, on Wednesday.
Club sources mentioned that he had a bad night and was not feeling well, which kept him from participating in training. This, coupled with the boos he faced from Colchonero fans during the match against Villarreal, further increases speculation about a possible departure from the club.
For now, it remains to be seen whether he will return to train with Atletico Madrid in the coming days. Meanwhile, his future remains subject to a lot of uncertainty, even though it looks highly unlikely that Barcelona would be his destination this summer.
The Colchoneros are particularly unwilling to let him leave for the Catalan club, both because they are direct rivals in Spain, but also because they are not very happy with the way the player has behaved during this saga.
If his position at Atletico Madrid remains untenable, Arsenal could turn out to be a possible destination for the Argentine star. For this to happen, the Gunners would have to pay €150 million and the player would have to agree to a transfer.
Otherwise, he will have to continue at Atletico Madrid, with whom he has a contract till 2030, and Barcelona would have to go into the next season without their highest-priority target.