The long-awaited Monday had finally arrived. Julian Alvarez was due to return from his post-World Cup holiday and finally sit down face-to-face with Diego Simeone and Miguel Angel Gil Marín to tell them directly that he wanted to leave for Barcelona. Instead of the meeting, however, he was effectively stood up by both the coach and Atletico's chief executive. More precisely, neither of them showed up at the club at all. That is according to the Catalan newspaper Mundo Deportivo, which claims that the Argentine striker was furious and told people at the club that he would stick to his decision until the very end — namely, that he wants to leave at all costs.🚨🔴⚪️ BREAKING: The Atlético Madrid players ALL AGREE with what Gil Marín has said and with Atleti’s position regarding Julián Alvarez.They believe the best thing for Julián is to take responsibility for his comments, acknowledge that they were a mistake, and PUBLICLY… pic.twitter.com/P52POOWOYT— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 11, 2026 Whether signals were sent from Camp Nou, or from some other address, to fire these “poisoned arrows” at Madrid, or whether this is simply what happened, is impossible to know. Nevertheless, whenever relations between Barcelona and Madrid are involved — even when Atletico are the club on the other side — information should be treated with caution rather than taken at face value. According to the report, Simeone did not show up because he had gone to Ibiza for a short break over the weekend, while Gil Marín was also absent. Mundo Deportivo claims that Alvarez believes Cholo lacked the courage to face his younger compatriot and discuss the problem that has been simmering for some time, in an attempt to find a solution. What's more, Alvarez reportedly did not expect the coach to go to Ibiza and be absent when everyone knew that the striker was returning from holiday on Monday.Spanish transfer war explodes! Atletico report Barca over Alvarez pursuitThe Catalan newspaper says that Alvarez's patience has run out and that the behaviour of Atletico's leading figures will have consequences. It is even claimed that he shouted at people who crossed his path: “Don't count on me anymore.” His other message was that he has no intention of abandoning his desire to move to Barcelona. There is now even a question mark over whether La Arana will turn up for Wednesday's team training, when Cholo, whether he likes it or not, will have to listen to the unhappy striker. The reason this whole drama has escalated so dramatically is that Alvarez was reportedly promised by Atletico back in February that he would be allowed to leave this summer if a sufficiently good offer arrived.Barca celebrates Alvarez's statement: "It's best for everyone if I leave Atletico"Barcelona came forward and initially offered 100 million euros, which Atletico rejected outright. The Rojiblancos want at least another 50 million on top of that. The situation then escalated to the point where Atletico made it clear that they would not sell the Argentine even for 150 million, or even more. In the meantime, Alvarez and his agents tried to calm tensions, and it was even believed that he wanted to “smooth things over” in order to stay. However, it now appears that the intention behind the olive branch was actually to reopen discussions about a move. Atletico do not want to discuss the matter, although it is obvious that keeping an unhappy player benefits nobody. It is therefore possible that the club is simply playing hardball and trying to extract better terms from Barca.##NAJAVA_MECA_9889617##The question, though, is how much more Barcelona can actually offer. This summer they have already paid 80 million to Newcastle for Anthony Gordon, another 22 million for Karim Adeyemi, and almost nine million euros for Belgian teenage winger Jesse Bisiwu. They also plan to sign Rodri from Manchester City for a fee of at least 50 million euros. The transfer window closes on September 1 and, objectively, almost anything could happen before then. The problem for Barcelona is that they could begin their title-defence campaign without a recognised centre-forward, particularly if Ferran Torres also leaves for PSG.
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