Julian Alvarez went to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Sunday needing to help a stumbling Atletico Madrid past Villarreal. Instead, he became the story: whistled by his own supporters through a 2-2 draw that left his stalled future exactly where it started, with one week left before the Spanish transfer window closes.
The hostility began before kick-off. Diego Simeone left Alvarez out of his starting XI, and as the striker warmed up on the touchline, sections of the 70,692-strong crowd chanted for him to leave the club, according to ONE and separately confirmed by beIN Sports and ESPN. He was jeered again when introduced in the 66th minute for Marc Pubill.
Atletico looked set to lose the match until Giuliano Simeone, the coach's son, struck late to snatch a point. It did nothing to change the mood around Alvarez: he walked straight down the tunnel at the final whistle, to more boos, rather than applaud the section of fans still in the stadium.
The scenes crystallised a saga that has hung over Atletico's start to the season. Barcelona have been chasing Alvarez for weeks, with Arsenal also credited with interest, and the Argentine has made no secret of wanting a way out. Atletico's hierarchy insists he is not for sale below his release clause, reported at close to €500 million, with the window shutting on September 1.
"When someone says they're leaving, it's a sign they've already gone," the Argentine coaching great and pundit Jorge Valdano said, according to ONE, adding that Alvarez's face on Sunday was that of a player who had mentally checked out.
Atletico's football director, Mateu Alemany, pushed back on the idea that the club's position had shifted, telling reporters — as relayed by ONE — that "what was planned has been completed," and that Alvarez being named in the squad and made available "puts everyone in their place."
Club president Enrique Cerezo went further, aiming his criticism squarely at Barcelona rather than his own player. "I believe Barcelona has not been up to the circumstances" in how it has handled the approach, he said, a line also carried by the Spanish outlets Récord and El Desmarque, who quoted him separately insisting Atletico "never had any intention of selling" Alvarez.
ONE's report drew a pointed comparison with Antoine Griezmann, who left Atletico for Barcelona in 2019 only to return to Madrid two years later and rebuild his standing with supporters. The suggestion from Spanish sources close to the club is that an Alvarez-Atletico reconciliation, if the move collapses, may not be so straightforward.
The 26-year-old signed for Atletico from Manchester City in the summer of 2024 and has been central to the team since, but his relationship with the fanbase has soured fast amid the transfer noise. He arrived back at the club only weeks removed from the biggest stage of his career, having started for Argentina in the 2026 World Cup final, a 1-0 extra-time defeat to Spain on July 19 in New Jersey.
With deadline day now six days away, neither side has publicly softened. Atletico maintain Alvarez will stay; the player, going by Sunday's silence and body language, has given his own fans little reason to believe it.
