Julian Alvarez Standoff: Atletico Madrid Blocks Barcelona Move

Julian Alvarez has stopped turning up to Atletico Madrid training – and the standoff is pushing him towards Arsenal, not the Barcelona move he wants.

The Argentina forward has missed two straight sessions, officially citing illness, after being told behind closed doors that Atletico will not sell him to the Catalan club. Sources have told BBC Sport the message to Alvarez and his camp earlier this week was blunt: there will be no negotiations with Barcelona.

Publicly, Atletico have been just as firm. The club issued two statements in 24 hours, both hammering home the same point – Alvarez will not be allowed to join Barca in the coming days. On Wednesday they responded to comments from Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who had insisted they still wanted to sign the 26-year-old, with a stark line: “There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca.”

The board then went even harder on Thursday. “The members of Atletico de Madrid's board of directors have unanimously expressed their absolute support for the club's decision to not negotiate the transfer of Julian Alvarez to FC Barcelona,” read their second statement, closing the door as publicly as possible.

Yet while one exit route has been blocked, another remains wide open.

Atletico are prepared to sell Alvarez to Arsenal and have already held direct talks with the Premier League champions over what would be one of the biggest deals of the summer window. Atleti director Mateu Alemany travelled to London last week and met Arsenal officials, making it clear the Spanish side want a fee of 150m euros (£128m).

Mikel Arteta is pushing hard to bring Alvarez to north London this month. Arsenal see him as a marquee addition. The problem is the player’s stance. His determination to join Barcelona has stalled Arsenal’s move, leaving the English champions waiting for a signal from the striker that he is ready to change course.

Even so, conversations between Atletico and Arsenal over a club-to-club agreement have been described as positive. The framework is there. If Alvarez gives Arsenal the green light in the coming days, the expectation is that the transfer could accelerate quickly.

For now, though, he remains absent from training, locked between the club that refuses to sell him to his preferred destination and the one superclub ready to pay the price to take him elsewhere.