Atletico Madrid have drawn a line under months of transfer speculation surrounding Julian Alvarez, with sporting director Mateo Alemany confirming the Rojiblancos’ summer business is complete and the Argentine forward will remain at the Metropolitano.
The declaration arrives at a tense moment for the club. Sections of the Atletico support have turned on Alvarez in recent weeks, jeering his absence from matchday squads amid swirling reports linking him with Barcelona and Arsenal.
The unrest boiled over during Atletico’s opening-weekend win over Malaga, when the striker’s exclusion from the squad drew audible frustration inside the stadium.
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Speaking to DAZN, in remarks carried by Mundo Deportivo, Alemany moved to shut down any lingering hope of a late window twist. “The essentials have been done, and our plan regarding arrivals and departures is complete,” he said. “We are in a good position and we are at ease.” With that, he ruled out further incomings and closed the door on any exits, ending supporters’ hopes of one final marquee addition before the deadline.
The Alvarez situation dominated his remarks. The 25-year-old World Cup winner has been at the centre of a prolonged transfer saga, with Barcelona long considered his preferred destination and Arsenal emerging as a serious alternative suitor after reports suggested Atletico had shifted their stance on a sale.
His camp had grown increasingly vocal, with his agent publicly pushing back against the club’s hierarchy over how the situation was being handled.
Alemany, though, was unequivocal that the noise would not translate into a departure. “If he is called up, and he is ready to play, that makes any talk unnecessary, and it reminds everyone of the importance of their role,” he said, before elaborating: “This topic has indeed been recurring, but what matters most is our current situation, where Julian has been called up and he is ready to play, and this makes everything clear and puts everyone in their correct place.”
The message was clear: Alvarez stays, and his performances on the pitch will do the talking.
The forward’s rise since arriving from Manchester City has been rapid. Signed for a fee in the region of £82 million after struggling for consistent starts behind Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne at the Etihad, Alvarez exploded into life in Spain, scoring 29 goals and adding seven assists across all competitions in his debut campaign under Diego Simeone.
That form triggered interest from across Europe, with Bayern Munich, Liverpool and Chelsea all previously credited with interest, though Barcelona’s long-standing admiration with club president Joan Laporta viewing him as a successor to Robert Lewandowski has remained the most persistent thread.
Turning to the season ahead, Alemany set an ambitious tone for Atletico’s campaign, insisting anything less than competing on every front would fall short of the club’s standards. “We cannot set any objective other than occupying the highest possible position in all competitions, while being aware of the difficulty of that,” he said. “We are a great club with a distinguished history, and we must aspire to compete for everything.”
He closed by backing the club’s new signings and Simeone’s selection choices, adding: “These players are here because the club and the coach wanted them.”
