Atletico Madrid have decided whether to sell Julian Alvarez to Arsenal or Barcelona in a stunning €150million (£129m) deal, with manager Diego Simeone having provided his take on the saga.
‘From the sporting side, we are very happy to have a player like Julian, and from a sporting perspective we will help him to continue growing, to continue improving, and to give us back what he has given us over these two years, which was a great deal. ‘We have some precedents, we already saw what happened with Griezmann, I don’t see any other way than to work from a sporting perspective as we have to and try to help as we have done these past two years.’
So far this summer, Atleti have rejected a €150m bid from Real Madrid for the striker, as well as a €100m (£86m) offer from Barcelona. Atleti pointed to Alvarez’s whopping €500m (£429m) release clause when rejecting Barca’s €100m bid earlier this summer. However, However, subsequent reports have suggested Arsenal bidding €150m for the goalscorer would test Atleti’s resolve. The Rojiblancos would rather sell Alvarez to Arsenal than a direct LaLiga rival such as Real Madrid or Barca.
Alvarez, meanwhile, made his feelings clear during Argentina’s World Cup campaign as he has told Atletico that he wants to leave before the end of the transfer window. Alvarez caused a stir early in the World Cup by saying: “I spoke with the people at [Atletico] I needed to speak with, and the best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfil my dream. It’s not the time to talk about this, but I also can’t hide it. I try to be an honest person.”
Reporting: CaughtOffside, TeamTalk, Metro.