Julian Alvarez set to stay at Atletico Madrid as Lamine Yamal dismisses Barcelona concerns

Julian Alvarez will remain with Atletico Madrid for at least another season despite Barcelona’s interest in signing the Argentina striker, with the Spanish transfer window due to close within hours.

The market has not officially shut in Spain, but Atletico Madrid are firmly opposed to selling Alvarez to Barcelona and the proposed move will not go ahead.

Barcelona forward Lamine Yamal was asked about the failed deal and said he had no concerns about his club’s decision not to bring in the Atletico Madrid striker. The 18-year-old, who wears Barcelona’s number 10 shirt, said he was satisfied with the squad already available to manager Hansi Flick.

“We are in an excellent situation at the moment. We can see that we are not lacking goals. Of course, he is a great player, but I am very happy with the squad we have,” Yamal told the Spanish radio programme ElPartidazo on COPE.

Barcelona have scored 12 goals in their opening three La Liga matches, a return that supports Yamal’s argument that the club are not suffering from a shortage of attacking options.

Alvarez, meanwhile, faces the task of rebuilding his relationship with Atletico Madrid supporters after being strongly criticised by sections of the club’s fanbase recently. Despite the speculation surrounding his future, he will now remain at the Madrid club for at least one more campaign.

Barcelona’s interest had made Alvarez one of the main talking points of the final hours of the summer transfer window. However, Atletico Madrid’s refusal to sanction a move to their domestic rivals has prevented the transfer from being completed.

Yamal’s comments were accompanied by video footage shared on social media by journalist Javi Gomez. The clip highlighted his three key responses when questioned about Alvarez: “We are very well at the moment”, “It is clear that we are not lacking goals” and “He is a great player but I am happy with the squad we have”.

The subject has also prompted discussion among football supporters on the Kooora forums, where readers can debate the latest news and stories in greater depth.