Atletico Madrid have hit back at comments from Barcelona president Joan Laporta over the transfer saga surrounding Julian Alvarez, insisting there is a “0% chance” of him being sold to their LaLiga rivals.
Alvarez, who is under contract at the Metropolitano until 2030, stated his desire to fulfil his “dream” by moving to Barcelona during the World Cup.
The Argentina forward was booed and walked straight down the tunnel at full-time of Atletico’s LaLiga opener, a 2-2 draw with Villarreal, having come on as a second-half substitute.
Alvarez missed training on Wednesday, with the former Manchester City attacker reported as suffering from illness.
Atletico respond after Laporta interview
Arsenal still retain an interest in Alvarez, and the involvement of the Premier League champions is seemingly influencing Barca in keeping the public pressure on Atletico.
“Before anything, we have the utmost respect for Atletico de Madrid and a personal appreciation for their executives as well, because we’ve known each other for many years,” Laporta said in an interview posted to Barcelona’s social media channels on Wednesday.
“This whole situation has created a lot of noise. This is not motivated by actions taken by Barca. It is motivated by the fact that Atletico told us they were not selling [Alvarez]. However, it looks like, from what we hear now [Atletico reportedly being open to selling to Arsenal], they are trying to reach agreements with other clubs.
“I want to tell [CEO] Enrique Cerezo, with all the respect because I appreciate him a lot, that Barca have been up to the standards required in this situation, in the same way we do with other clubs.
“It happened to us in this window with Manchester City, as well as other clubs. We approach them to see if they want to sell one of their players. When they tell us they don’t sell, we let it go. But in this case, there are special circumstances that have been made aware Atletico de Madrid want to sell the player to other clubs.
“With this context, our interest and offer for the player remains up until the end of the window, in case Atletico de Madrid want to sell the player. We are very interested in buying Julian Alvarez. We would like our offer to be accepted. We say it with all the respect towards Atletico de Madrid.
“We want them to know that if they ever are open to selling the player before the end of the summer transfer window, we would be willing to buy him.”
Atletico responded in a statement reported by Marca: “The player is being portrayed as the victim, but the only victim of the Julian case is us.
“They have harmed us economically and socially. There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca. This situation is not about money, it’s about dignity.
“Theres a campaign with many lies and half-truths. The only one who pays for this is Atletico.”
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