Atletico Hits Back Over Julian Alvarez Transfer Rumours

By Eppe Franklyne – Atletico Madrid has strongly criticised Barcelona over what it described as a campaign of misinformation surrounding the future of Julian Alvarez. The Spanish club responded after reports claimed that Barcelona had submitted a €100 million bid for the Argentine forward and that the player wanted to leave Atletico.

The controversy gathered pace when rumours about a possible Julian Alvarez transfer spread across several media outlets. In response, Atletico launched a sarcastic online campaign on social media platform X. The club posted AI-generated messages claiming it had made transfer offers for Barcelona stars Lamine Yamal, Pedri, and Raphinha. The mock proposals suggested payment through concert tickets and streaming subscriptions rather than cash, clearly ridiculing the reports.

Following the posts, Atletico released a strongly worded statement defending its player and attacking what it sees as repeated attempts to damage the club’s reputation. The statement said: “Atlético de Madrid would never do something like that. However, in recent months, we’ve been suffering a smear campaign against one of our players. Leaked information with ulterior motives, fake news, constant disrespect, the Culé version of the propaganda machine inventing little stories, calls before direct matchups.”

The club insisted that the Julian Alvarez transfer speculation lacked credibility and accused Barcelona-linked sources of spreading misleading information. Atletico also used the opportunity to revisit previous controversies involving its rival.

In a further swipe, Atletico referred to Barcelona’s player registration issues and suggested the club had received favourable treatment. The statement added: “ it wouldn’t occur to us either to have the referees’ vice president on our payroll or to resort to political favors to register players. RESPECT and VALUES,” the club wrote.

The dispute has added fresh tension to the rivalry, with the Julian Alvarez transfer rumours continuing to dominate La Liga, Barcelona news, and Atletico Madrid discussions.