Julian Alvarez to miss Atletico Madrid’s Sevilla clash, says Diego Simeone

Julian Alvarez will not be available for Atletico Madrid’s La Liga meeting with Sevilla on Saturday, Diego Simeone has confirmed, as uncertainty continues over the Argentina forward’s future at the club.

Atletico are standing by their position that Alvarez remains an important player, despite the current situation surrounding him. Simeone said the club had already made its stance clear and that he remained committed to helping the striker return to the team.

“The club was very decisive and very clear in everything it explained about what will happen. I still hold the same position, and from a sporting point of view I am waiting to help him in the best way possible so that he can continue being the extremely important player he represents for us,” Simeone said.

He added that Alvarez would miss the third-round fixture against Sevilla, who have won both of their opening matches and will therefore arrive with confidence.

“Julian will not be available tomorrow against Sevilla, and we have to compete against a team that have won two matches, so their confidence will be very high,” said Simeone.

Alvarez has missed Atletico training for a third consecutive day. Spanish reports claim the player has told the club that he is suffering from severe depression.

The forward is reportedly determined to leave Atletico and join Barcelona, but the club’s board has closed that possibility. Atletico have said they are willing to negotiate with any team from outside Spain, but will not hold talks with Barcelona.

Alvarez has also rejected an offer from Arsenal because his preference is to move only to Barcelona.

Simeone said Atletico would continue to support the player in the same way once he returned to training with the squad.

“From the moment Julian returns to training with us, we will give him everything we have always given him so that he feels the importance he has always felt, and which he deserves, for our team,” the manager said.

Saturday’s match will be Atletico’s third La Liga game of the season. They opened their campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malaga at the Wanda Metropolitano, a game Alvarez missed.

He made his first appearance of the season in the following match, when Atletico drew 2-2 with Villarreal.

The Sevilla fixture also comes shortly after Simeone reached 800 matches as Atletico manager. The club marked the milestone, although the Argentine joked that nobody had personally congratulated him.

“Everyone forgot to congratulate me on reaching 800 matches. Nobody congratulated me, do you remember? I remember that. All the focus was on other things, and you forgot me,” Simeone said.

Simeone has been in charge of Atletico since 2011 and reached the landmark during the club’s opening matches of the campaign. His immediate focus, however, is preparing his side to face a Sevilla team with a perfect record while Atletico continue to deal with Alvarez’s absence and the unresolved questions over his future.