Julian Alvarez's Future: Atletico Madrid Bans Barcelona, Arsenal in Talks

Julian Alvarez has effectively drawn a line in the sand at Atletico Madrid – and it now points firmly towards Arsenal, not Barcelona.

The Argentina striker has not reported for training for two straight days after being told privately that Atletico will not sell him to the Catalan giants. The club informed Alvarez and his representatives earlier this week that they will not enter talks with Barcelona over a transfer, shutting down his preferred move.

Alvarez, 26, has since been absent from training, officially citing illness. His no-show comes against the backdrop of a hardening stance from Atletico, who have gone public twice in 24 hours to underline that Barcelona is a closed door.

On Wednesday, Atletico hit back at comments from Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who claimed they still wanted to sign Alvarez, with a blunt statement: “There is 0% chance of selling him to Barca.”

The message was reinforced on Thursday when the Atletico board issued its own declaration, saying the directors had “unanimously expressed their absolute support for the club's decision to not negotiate the transfer of Julian Alvarez to FC Barcelona.”

Arsenal, though, are a different story.

Atletico are open to selling Alvarez to the Premier League champions and have already held direct talks with Arsenal over what would rank as one of the standout deals of the summer window. Atleti director Mateu Alemany travelled to London last week and met Arsenal officials, making it clear the Spanish club would demand a fee of 150m euros (£128m).

Mikel Arteta is pushing hard to land Alvarez this month, seeing him as a major piece in Arsenal’s attack. Yet the player’s determination to join Barcelona has stalled Arsenal’s move, leaving the deal in a holding pattern while his camp digests Atletico’s hard line.

Even so, discussions between the two clubs have been described as positive, with a broad framework in place if Alvarez changes course. Should the forward give Arsenal the green light in the coming days, the expectation is that negotiations would accelerate quickly.

For now, Atletico have drawn their battle lines. Barcelona are out. Arsenal are in play. The next move belongs to Julian Alvarez.