Atlético de Madrid will make their debut this season in LaLiga tomorrow, Wednesday, against the recently promoted team Málaga. The coach Diego Pablo Simeone spoke in the press conference about Julián Álvarez, who returned to training last week after a claiming earlier this summer that his dream was to play in Barcelona. However, the club has refused to let him go and claim the player is not for sale, and even sued Barcelona for negotiating with a player under contract behind their backs.
"If the club owner speaks so categorically, there's no basis for it, it's like a lawsuit. What he said is perfectly clear", are the only words Simeone spoke about the situation. The chapter is not closed yet as the summer transfer window remains open, but it would be very unlikely that Atleti would change their mind and accept Barça's offer.
What Simeone did confirm is that Álvarez will not travel to Málaga. "From a sporting perspective, I understand that he needs a bit more training to be in top form for Sunday. We need more training sessions with him".
Simeone then confirmed he trusts that Álvarez will stay and will build the team around him. "He's our best offensive player, and I still think the same: we need to build a team around him, considering his power, quality, leadership, talent, and what he gave to the team during his two years here."
Álvarez may make his debut this season with Atleti on Sunday, against Villarreal (a team that displaced Atleti from the third to the fourth position in LaLiga last season), and it will be interesting to see how will the fans react to Álvarez: it is likely he will be booed by the fans, and he will have to earn their trust back if he gets to stay at Atleti.
