Those expecting Atletico Madrid to fold in the Julian Alvarez drama clearly haven’t been following the signs. The club is steadfast on not allowing their rivals, FC Barcelona, to acquire Alvarez for anything less than his 500 million euro release clause.
Barcelona aren’t moving off of their 100 million euro offer. Atletico Madrid won’t accept, and on Wednesday the club left things very clear: They won’t sell him to Barcelona. That practically leaves Alvarez with two options: Stay with Atleti, where he’s unhappy, or consider transferring to Arsenal.
Atlético Madrid asked Julián Alvarez to leave the pitch alone after tense draw
Arsenal to up their offer for Julian Alvarez, but the player isn’t keen on moving back to England
The Premier League champions appear to be the only other team making a serious push for Alvarez. Plugged-in Argentinian reporter Gaston Edul mentioned Wednesday that Arsenal is gearing up to improve their offer just a bit, up from the original 120 million euro one, in order to try to persuade Atleti into pulling the trigger.
That will likely leave the decision up to Alvarez. Barcelona is clearly his dream destination, but he doesn’t have that option anymore. The issue is that Alvarez seemingly doesn’t want to move to England. Edul says “Julian had no plans to return and live in England in the short term. A personal and family decision.”
Alvarez spent two years in England while he played with Manchester City. This time around, he would live in London, so it would be a bit different. Given that Atletico Madrid’s fans hate him at the moment, Alvarez is running out of options.
