Julian Alvarez tells Atletico team-mates he will put club first after Barcelona setback

Julian Alvarez has told his Atletico de Madrid team-mates that his commitment to the club is complete, while acknowledging that he made a mistake in the way he handled Barcelona’s interest in signing him.

The Argentina forward had been linked with a move to Barcelona, but the long-running speculation appears to have reached an impasse in recent days. Atletico have refused to allow Alvarez to leave, despite the player reportedly holding on to the ambition of joining the Catalan club.

According to Spanish radio station Cadena SER, Alvarez is now beginning to accept that he will not leave Atletico through a transfer deal. The development was reported by journalist Miguel Martin Talavera on the programme El Larguero.

Talavera said Alvarez had spoken openly to his team-mates in the dressing room about his conduct during the uncertainty surrounding Barcelona’s interest. Until now, the forward had not acknowledged the matter to them in such direct terms.

“Alvarez spoke to his team-mates and told them that his commitment to the shirt is complete, and that as long as he remains at Atletico de Madrid, whether that is for a year, three years or even two days, the club comes before anything else,” Talavera said.

The journalist added that Alvarez’s admission “completely rules out any possibility of a rebellion”, following speculation that the player could take a more forceful stance if Atletico continued to block a potential move to Barcelona.

Talavera said: “He spoke to his team-mates in recent hours and told them that his commitment to Atletico is above anything else. He admitted that he made a mistake, particularly in the way and manner in which he expressed his position.”

However, the journalist, who follows Atletico de Madrid closely, stressed that Alvarez’s words did not necessarily mean he had abandoned his desire to move to Barcelona.

“Alvarez now understands that he will not move to Barcelona through a transfer deal,” Talavera said. “I think he is getting closer and closer to stepping back from his position.”

The latest development represents a change in tone from Alvarez, who had continued to be associated with a possible move despite Atletico’s refusal to sanction his departure. His comments to the dressing room are being viewed as a reaffirmation of his loyalty to the Madrid club while he remains under contract.

For now, Atletico’s position has not changed. The club does not want to allow Alvarez to leave, while the player appears to be coming to terms with the likelihood that his immediate future will remain at the Metropolitano.