Mourinho says Alvarez must reset after Barcelona transfer breakdown

Jose Mourinho has advised Julian Alvarez to accept his continued role at Atletico de Madrid after the striker’s proposed move to Barcelona failed during the summer transfer window.

Alvarez had made clear his desire to join Barcelona, but Atletico rejected more than one formal offer from the Catalan club and refused to sanction the forward’s departure.

With Spain’s summer transfer window closing on Tuesday, Alvarez will remain an Atletico player until at least January.

Barcelona subsequently signed Gabriel Jesus to lead their attack after the departures of Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres.

Mourinho, the Real Madrid manager, was asked at a news conference on Thursday whether he had experienced a situation similar to the one involving Alvarez. His team are due to face Real Betis in La Liga on Friday.

“I think nobody knows the specific situation better than Simeone, and I don’t see that I have anything to say about this matter,” Mourinho said, in comments reported by Mundo Deportivo.

He then offered Alvarez advice on how to handle the failed transfer.

“What I always say is that when a player is not happy and 1 September arrives, he has to become happy, because otherwise he will not play until January,” Mourinho said.

Mourinho also suggested he expected Alvarez to remain an important player for Atletico during the coming months.

“I have the feeling that, from yesterday and at least until December, he will be an important player for his club,” he added.

The Portuguese manager rejected the suggestion that the La Liga title race would be limited to Real Madrid and Barcelona. He believes Atletico have the strength and stability to challenge for the championship.

“I think Atletico will also be there. Even if they don’t say it publicly, I think they feel they are capable of competing,” Mourinho said.

“The way they make their signings gives them strength, and there is also internal stability through keeping the manager, as well as their organisation and training methods. That gives the team greater strength compared with those who are constantly changing.”

“For me, Atletico are one of the candidates. Then there are strong teams who will compete for Champions League places, such as Betis and Real Sociedad.”

Mourinho said the demands of Spanish football made La Liga particularly difficult, with leading clubs under constant pressure to win every match.

“For me, this is not an easy championship. There is constant pressure to win all the time. In Germany or France, the title candidates enjoy more comfort because they know they will eventually become champions, but here any result other than a victory is not considered a good result,” he said.

Mourinho also revealed that he had not spoken to former Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso about the club, although he had held a conversation with former coach Alvaro Arbeloa.

“I have not spoken with Xabi since we played against Leverkusen when I was at Roma. As for Alvaro, I spoke with him, but the information I received did not come from him,” Mourinho said.

“It is not easy for a former coach to talk about his previous situation, but it was not related to him.”