Atletico fans booed and whistled at Julian Alvarez on Sunday at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, expressing their displeasure over the transfer drama that had happened this summer
The reaction of the Atlético Madrid fans when Julian Alvarez’s name was announced at the stadium. 🇪🇸🇦🇷🤯🤯 pic.twitter.com/CY2Mu5e3xp
— Football Tweet ⚽ (@Footballtweet) August 23, 2026
How It Started
Julian Alvarez arrived at Atletico Madrid from Manchester City last summer in a deal worth around £81.5m, scoring 29 goals in all competitions in his debut campaign, becoming Atletico’s top scorer and Diego Simeone’s most trusted attacking weapon.
And he quickly became one of the most sought after attackers this summer but Alvarez himself only wanted Barcelona
Atletico claims there was contact between Alvarez’s camp and Barcelona during the season itself, including discussions before Copa del Rey and Champions League games.
Atletico were unhappy enough to lodge a formal complaint with the Spanish federation. No official offer was ever made and Atletico closed the door on any Barcelona move.
Atletico digs deep
President Enrique Cerezo spoke publicly and said the club never had any intention of selling him Alvarez
CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin went further saying Alvarez had been badly advised in his push for the move. The club’s stance has been the same all summer – he’s not going anywhere for less than his release clause, which is said to be in the region of €500 million.
But that has not deterred the Premier League clubs in pursuit. Both Arsenal and Liverpool have been linked with moves, with Arsenal apparently still monitoring the deal right up to the September 1 deadline
But Alvarez didn’t give consideration to any other club except Barcelona
Fans booed and whistled Alvarez
All that tension exploded at home in Atletico’s first game against Villarreal. There were loud boos and chants when his name was read out, more boos when he warmed up and a louder chorus when he came on in the 66th minute for Marc Pubill.
You could hear the fans chanting for him to leave for good
Alvarez only had 12 touches and had hardly any shot before the final whistle, and the club reportedly told him to skip the post-match lap of the stands and head straight down the tunnel as his teammates thanked the fans alone.
Atletico salvaged a 2-2 draw with a late equalizer from Giuliano Simeone, but the highlight of the day was the Alvarez treatment
