Atlético de Madrid board closes the door on Barça over Julián Álvarez

The standoff between Atlético de Madrid and FC Barcelona over Julián Álvarez continues. Backed by its board, the Madrid leadership is maintaining its position and refusing, for now, to open negotiations with the Catalan club.

Atlético de Madrid executives have reaffirmed their firm position regarding Julián Álvarez’s future. The club’s board supports the line adopted by the leadership, which is refusing for now to open negotiations with FC Barcelona for the Argentine striker. In a statement published on Thursday morning, Atlético made it clear that it was not considering any talks with the Catalan club about its center forward.

This clarification comes after Joan Laporta’s comments. The Barça president had said on Wednesday that Atlético was trying to steer Álvarez toward other clubs, while insisting that Barcelona’s offer remained on the table. Faced with that situation, Madrid’s executives wanted to remind everyone of their principles on transfer operations. “Atlético de Madrid is open to standard transfer-market negotiations when they are conducted in a professional, ethical and respectful manner,” they said.

The standoff between the two Spanish clubs therefore continues. Keen to sign Álvarez, FC Barcelona will now have to deal with Atlético’s hard line, as the Madrid side appears to favor other options for the future of its striker.