Atlético Madrid Stands Firm on Julián: Not for Sale at Any Price

Atlético Madrid has sent a thunderous message to Barcelona and the rest of Europe: Julián is not for sale. Not for €100 million. Not for €150 million. Not even for €200 million.

“Atlético, like all great clubs, is built with great players, and I’m certain that Julián is one, as well as a great professional,” the club figure told EFE, framing the striker not as an asset, but as a pillar. “We must compete based on our values, with homegrown talent and with the best players from outside that we can bring in.”

The stance is not muddled. It is not up for debate. “My opinion is clear, the club’s will is clear, we have made this clear to the player and his agent, and to the Barça president,” he said. “I have no doubt that Atlético is the right place in the world for Julián, and Julián is the perfect striker for Atlético Madrid. We want to keep him.”

Barcelona’s interest has hovered for weeks, with president Joan Laporta publicly insisting their offer would not remain on the table indefinitely. That hint of pressure drew an equally firm, almost defiant, response from the capital.

“I simply heard some statements from the president (Laporta), saying that his offer wasn’t open-ended. And our response is that our answer is indeed open-ended; we don’t want to transfer him,” came the reply. “We didn’t accept the €100 million offer, nor will we accept one of €150 million or €200 million.”

The money, in this case, is secondary to the message. Atlético wants to build around Julián, not cash in on him.

“We are going to help Julián and continue to take care of him so that he can give us his full potential, because we need him to keep competing among the best in Europe,” he continued. The club, though, also made a pointed remark about the people around the player. “We must understand that Julián hasn’t had the best advisors around him regarding his professional career in recent months.”

The battle is not just financial. It is ideological. Atlético feels under siege by bigger powers and the media machines that orbit them.

“That other clubs and their affiliated media tell us what to do, dictate our sporting strategy, and disrespect us. That’s precisely what they want: to divide us,” he warned. “It’s clear we’re not as powerful as them, but we have values. We Atlético fans won’t allow them to corrupt us. Atleti is strong when we’re all together.”

The numbers are staggering, the pressure is intense, but Atlético’s message on Julián is brutally simple: some players are not just on the market. They are the standard around which a club chooses to define itself.