Julian Alvarez was left so shaken by the hostile reception he received from Atletico Madrid fans on Sunday that a move to Arsenal is no longer off the table, even though Barcelona remains his absolute priority.
Atletico's refusal to negotiate with their Catalan rivals has pushed the situation toward a possible deadline day resolution, with the Argentina striker's position at the club now considered unsustainable.
Alvarez had expected a difficult welcome after saying during the World Cup that it was his dream to move to Barcelona. His name was whistled by more than 60,000 fans before kick-off, and jeered again when he warmed up and when he came on as a 66th-minute substitute.
The intensity of the reaction shocked him, and what followed was worse still. When his team-mates went to applaud supporters behind one of the goals at full time, the 26-year-old walked down the tunnel alone, stepping over an Atletico scarf that had been thrown in his direction.
Simeone says decision was made for him
It looked like the defining image of an irreversible split, though observers inside the stadium at first concluded Alvarez had chosen to walk away on his own. Atletico coach Diego Simeone said afterwards that was not the case.
"The decision was not his," Simeone said. An Atletico press officer had approached Alvarez and spoken to him before he turned and left the pitch, further opening wounds that have festered since the World Cup, when the striker admitted: "I can't hide it, I think the best thing is a transfer so I can fulfill my dream."
Barcelona's offer falls short of Atletico's valuation
Barcelona have so far made just one offer, two months ago, worth £77million plus £8.6million in add-ons payable over six years, which Atletico dismissed as derisory. Barcelona could return with a second offer this week, but they do not have the financial muscle to approach Atletico's £130million valuation, and Atletico insist they will not sell to them regardless.
Arsenal's sporting director has Atletico ties
Atletico's sporting director, Mateu Alemany, was in London last week to discuss a possible move for Chelsea's Nicolas Jackson, and used the trip to speak with his opposite number at Arsenal, Andrea Berta, who previously held Alemany's role at Atletico.
Berta's Atletico connections could help broker any agreement between the two clubs. Including Viktor Gyokeres in a deal would answer Simeone's demand for a top-class replacement, though the Sweden striker would not be his first choice in calmer circumstances. Simeone admires Jackson, and Chelsea emerging as surprise suitors cannot be ruled out, but Arsenal have tracked Alvarez the longest.
How committed Arsenal would be if encouraged by the player's camp remains to be seen. Alvarez has had a poor pre-season, shown by a subdued 25 minutes on the pitch on Sunday, and any buyer would be signing a player who has made no secret of wanting to leave.
Aguero's Atletico exit offers a precedent
One precedent that might ease Arsenal's concerns is that of Sergio Aguero, who wanted to join Real Madrid in 2011. Atletico were so determined to block that move that they sold him to Manchester City for £38million instead, where he went on to become a club legend.
Atletico's resistance over Aguero is minor compared with their refusal to sell Alvarez to Barcelona now. They have reported Barcelona to FIFA over what they consider inappropriate approaches during key moments of last season.
Player told club he was unhappy last year
Alvarez's camp and Atletico give different accounts of events, but both agree the striker told the club at the end of last year that he was unhappy. Atletico felt they had gone out of their way to support him and his young family; Alvarez became a father in January 2026.
Atletico initially assured Alvarez the team would be built around him, but he responded that the club's style of football did not suit him and that he wanted to leave. Atletico have briefed that they then told his agent, Fernando Hidalgo, they would not keep him against his will, but that the right offer would need to arrive in the correct manner.
Atletico wanted nothing to disrupt their season. They believe conversations between Hidalgo and Barcelona continued regardless, intensifying around the time the two clubs met in both the Copa del Rey and the Champions League.
War of words between club and agent
Tension continued into the new season. Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin said Alvarez had been "badly advised" by Hidalgo, prompting the agent to respond on social media: "Don't ask a liar to explain why he lied because he'll just tell you another lie."
Any move to Arsenal would require matching Alvarez's £300,000-a-week wages, a figure Arsenal were prepared to pay Vinicius Junior earlier this summer, while Bukayo Saka is also thought to earn more than £300,000 a week at the club. Vinicius ultimately chose to stay at Real Madrid out of loyalty to the club that brought him to Europe, but Alvarez's situation is very different.
It is hard to think of a comparable case of animosity between a club and a player on such a long contract; Alvarez's deal with Atletico runs until 2030. The next six days will determine whether that animosity has reached a point where Arsenal becomes not just Alvarez's reluctant alternative, but his only route out of what has become an unsalvageable situation.
