Julian Alvarez's Fallout with Diego Simeone at Atletico Madrid

The mood around the Metropolitano has curdled. What was supposed to be the house Julian Alvarez would help define now feels like a place he cannot wait to leave – and Diego Simeone is livid.

Reports in Spain describe the Atletico Madrid coach as “absolutely furious” with the Argentine striker, who has been heavily linked with a shock move to Barcelona. For a manager who has spent the past year shielding Alvarez in public, the sense of betrayal cuts deep.

La Liga commentator Phil Kitromilides laid bare the scale of the fallout when speaking to CBS Sports.

“What I’m hearing is that the dressing room is very, very disappointed with him,” he said. “And what I’ve been told by someone who knows the situation is that Diego Simeone can’t even look at him. Like, Diego Simeone is furious, absolutely furious with Julian Alvarez. And rightly so.”

That anger has roots. Long ones.

Simeone stood by Alvarez during the worst spell of his Atletico career, a brutal four-month run without a goal last season. While questions swirled around the former Manchester City forward, the coach never joined the chorus. He did the opposite.

Kitromilides underlined just how far that backing went.

“This is his guy, this is someone who he defended publicly, consistently, last season, when Alvarez went nearly four months without scoring,” he explained. “He was never questioned by Simeone, never a bad word from Simeone, constantly backed and supported 100 per cent. This is their most important player, their franchise player. The whole project is built around Julian Alvarez.”

For Simeone and his staff, that is the heart of the problem. They believed Alvarez was the centrepiece of the next Atletico side, the attacking reference point for the coming years. Now, as talk of Barcelona intensifies, it feels to them as if the player is walking away from a project built in his image.

Alvarez’s recent behaviour has only poured fuel on the fire. The striker missed training sessions last week, stoking speculation that he is pushing for the Camp Nou. He did return to work with his teammates on Sunday, but the sense of rupture has not disappeared.

Atletico, though, are refusing to blink. The club’s position is firm: they do not want to sell, and certainly not on terms that suit Barcelona more than themselves.

Barcelona, for their part, have made no secret of their admiration. The Catalan hierarchy like Alvarez, rate him, and see him as a potential long-term solution in attack. Yet reality bites. Those inside the club are said to recognise how complicated any deal would be in this window, given Atletico’s stance and the player’s importance in Madrid.

So the Catalans have started to look elsewhere.

Attention has shifted towards Gabriel Jesus, with reports suggesting Barcelona are closing in on an agreement with Arsenal for the Brazilian. He is viewed as a more attainable option than prising Alvarez away from a furious Simeone and a dug-in Atletico board.

Back in Madrid, the stand-off enters a delicate phase. Despite the tension, Alvarez is still expected to be named in the squad for Atletico’s next fixture. The club know they cannot afford to leave one of their top talents on the sidelines indefinitely, not when the season is looming and expectations remain high.

Inside the offices at the Metropolitano, the message is one of forced calm. Officials are trying to project normality, to present this as a storm that can be ridden out rather than a fracture that will define their season.

On the record, the tone stays optimistic. Asked about Alvarez’s absence and potential return, Mateu Alemany spelled out the club line: “The plan is very clear. We hope he’ll be back in the team quickly and available for the next LaLiga match.”

The plan might be clear. Whether Alvarez still believes in it – and whether Simeone can ever truly forgive him – will decide far more than just the next team sheet.