Argentine striker Julian Alvarez passed his medical today in Madrid, marking the start of his official return to Atletico Madrid. The crucial conversation he had planned with Diego Pablo Simeone about his future, though, will now have to wait until Wednesday at the earliest.
According to “Mundo Deportivo”, Simeone extended his holiday by a few days after Atletico’s friendly in South Korea and won’t return to the Spanish capital before midweek. That leaves Alvarez to postpone a meeting he considers decisive, one he wants before making any final decision on where his future lies.
Tests outside the sports city
Alvarez took the medical directly at a private clinic in Madrid, in line with the club’s usual protocol, and has yet to set foot on the pitch at Atletico’s sports city.
With the tests done, the Argentine international now waits to rejoin his teammates. The greatest focus, however, remains on that anticipated conversation with Simeone.
Atletico hold firm to their refusal
Nothing has shifted at the club. Senior officials confirmed to “Sport” that Julian Alvarez remains non-transferable, and that they are not thinking about negotiating his departure at all, despite the interest the striker has drawn in recent months from Barcelona and other European clubs.
An implicit understanding or a misunderstanding?
The player believes he reached an implicit understanding with Atletico, one in which the club would be prepared to listen to offers on his behalf once last season ended.
Alvarez sees this as part of what the two parties discussed, and he now wants to remind general manager Gil Marin of that agreement in person. Atletico read the situation very differently. There is so far no desire to smooth his path to Barcelona in particular.
The Argentine banks on dialogue
Nothing has changed about Alvarez’s desire to pull on a Barcelona shirt. He intends to make that position clear once more to Atletico’s board, hoping the club will at least sit down to talk.
He doesn’t want to spark a crisis or force a split. But he won’t hide his priority either, not if he can finally leave Madrid on good terms.
Barcelona watch from afar
Barcelona, meanwhile, are following events cautiously from a distance. The Catalan club have already made their serious interest known, and they know any progress now depends entirely on Atletico softening their stance. Should the red and whites open the door to talks, unlikely as that seems right now, Barcelona stand ready to try again with a fresh official proposal.