Atletico Madrid Shuts the Door on Barcelona Over Julian Alvarez, Board Backs Decision Unanimously

Atletico Madrid shut the door once again. On Thursday, the club issued a blunt statement across its official channels to make one thing clear: there will be no negotiation with Barcelona over Julian Alvarez, full stop. What stands out is the weight behind the message, since the club stated that the decision has the unanimous backing of its Board of Directors, hardly a routine internal matter when an Argentina national team striker and a hefty offer are on the table.

The statement leaves little room for interpretation: "The members of Atletico Madrid's Board of Directors have unanimously expressed their full support for the club's decision not to negotiate the transfer of Julian Alvarez to Futbol Club Barcelona." It goes further, taking direct aim at how Barcelona has handled the matter: "Atletico Madrid is open to the kind of negotiations that are part of the transfer market, but always in an ethical and professional manner and with respect between clubs. We fully back the position previously communicated by the club that Futbol Club Barcelona has not met these standards, and as a result there has been, and will be, no negotiation with them regarding the transfer of Julian Alvarez."

The statement comes just a day after Joan Laporta once again addressed the matter, something that has become almost routine at this point. The Barcelona president insisted that the club's offer still stands: "We'd like to reach an understanding with Atletico Madrid. We're maintaining our proposal, and hopefully there can be an understanding between the two clubs, between all of us, so that if they sell the player, it's Barca who can acquire Julian Alvarez's services." Laporta went even further, justifying the interest by pointing to what he described as the player's own wish: "It's common knowledge, it seems the player wants to come to Barca, so we're maintaining our hope, our intention, with all due respect to Atletico Madrid."

A Missing Player and a Market That Won't Close

While the boardrooms argue, there's a more immediate problem on the field. Julian Alvarez did not train with Diego Simeone's group on either Wednesday or Thursday, sidelined by what the club described as a persistent issue involving "discomfort." The absence comes just days after his return to LaLiga action against Villarreal, when he came on in the 66th minute and was greeted with whistles from his own fans, frustrated by his openly stated wish to leave for Barcelona.

With one more training session set for Friday, whether he'll be available for Saturday's match against Sevilla at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan remains uncertain. To make matters worse, Simeone also won't be able to call on Alexander Sorloth, who is out with a muscle injury, further complicating Atletico's attacking options.

Behind it all sits the number that has defined this whole saga: the 100 million euro offer, payable in six installments, that Barcelona put forward in late May and that Atletico rejected without hesitation, pointing instead to the 500 million euro release clause that applies specifically to a move to that particular destination. Adding to that rejection is now the interest of Arsenal, who are also closely tracking the striker's situation. The transfer window remains open, but Atletico, at least for now, has decided not to budge an inch.