Atlético de Madrid has seen the statements made by their player Julián Álvarez, where the Argentinian publicly asked to be transferred so that he can "fulfill his dreams" (of playing at FC Barcelona). And they don't change their stance: the player is not for sale and there are no chances of him being sold to Barcelona this summer.
"There is no amount Barcelona can pay for Julián, and he will not be transferred to Barcelona", club sources said to AS. "Either they pay the €500 million release clause, or nothing".
In fact, the rojiblanco club has taken immediate action and will file a complaint against Barcelona before FIFA, accusing Barça of negotiating with a player under contract. They claim Barcelona has acted this way on several occassions: when they tempted Antoine Griezmann, back during his first stint at Atleti, "promising commissions to his sister, his family, and the player himself", at the same time as "Atlético was fighting for a Champions League spot against Juventus". Barcelona ended up signing Griezmann, but the Frenchman returned to Atleti years later, apparently regretting the move, saying he "made a mistake".
They also remined the situation with Nico Williams and Athletic Club last summer, when it appeared that Barça was about to sign the young defender from Bilbao, but that ended up not happening. "Everyone knows it's a dishonest club", said Atleti, possibly a reference to the Negreira Case. "Barcelona has played this way on several occasions".
One thing is for sure: if Julián Álvarez continues to play for Atlético de Madrid next season, the fans won't be very happy with him...
