Every one of Atlético Madrid's shareholders — from majority owner Miguel Ángel Gil Marín to the club's American and Israeli investors — is opposed to letting Julián Álvarez leave for Barcelona, ONE reports, hardening a stand-off that has turned the Argentine striker into a pariah at his own stadium.
Among those blocking the move, according to the Israeli outlet, is Idan Ofer, the London-based Israeli shipping and energy magnate whose Quantum Pacific Group has held a stake in the Madrid club since 2017 and now owns roughly a quarter of it, behind majority holder Apollo Sports Capital.
Ofer's group first bought into Atlético for around €50 million and later expanded its holding by buying out Dalian Wanda's shares — the club's own announcements at the time confirmed the Israeli billionaire as one of Atlético's principal outside investors alongside Gil Marín.
None of that ownership structure appears willing to simply hand Álvarez to a direct La Liga rival. ONE reports the shareholders would rather sell him to Arsenal — who have offered around €150 million plus bonuses — or keep him under contract than see him play for Barcelona.
The player, for his part, has made no secret of where he wants to go. Álvarez has told Atlético he will only leave for Barcelona, and has so far resisted encouragement to instead push through a switch to the Premier League, according to the report.
That stance has cost him support on the terraces. Álvarez was jeered by his own fans during Atlético's recent home game against Villarreal, cutting a lonely figure as he trudged down the tunnel at full time while team-mates applauded the crowd — a scene also picked up by Spanish and English outlets in the past week.
An Atlético source quoted by ONE played down the rift, saying simply that "the issue between Álvarez and the supporters will resolve itself when he scores his first goal this season" — a sign the club, for now, is prepared to ride out the tension rather than bow to his wishes.
Álvarez joined Atlético from Manchester City last year in a club-record deal reported at close to $100 million, on a long-term contract other outlets have put as running to 2031 with a release clause in the hundreds of millions of euros — terms that leave Atlético firmly in control of any exit.
With Spain's transfer window closing soon, the saga leaves Atlético facing an awkward choice: sell to Arsenal for a fee that would rank among the biggest in the club's history, or keep an unsettled star whose own owners — Israeli money included — agree on only one thing: he is not going to Barcelona.
