Barcelona chief fires fresh Julian Alvarez jibe after Arsenal transfer claim

· Mirror

Julian Alvarez was of interest to both Barcelona and Arsenal this summer but ended up staying with Atletico Madrid and Joan Laporta has hit out once again weeks after the transfer window

Barcelona chief Joan Laporta has slammed Atletico Madrid for reacting ‘inappropriately’ during the Julian Alvarez saga. The Argentine forward requested to leave the Spanish side in the summer, with Atletico’s La Liga rivals Barcelona among those to attempt to sign him.

Diego Simeone’s side refused to do business with Barcelona, while Arsenal also failed to agree a deal, forcing Alvarez to stay with his current employers.

With the dust now settled on the transfer window, Barcelona president Laporta has now fired a fresh jibe at Atletico and criticised their behaviour throughout the saga.

He said: “They acted offended; they had no way to justify their attitude. We did what’s usually done: there was club-to-club communication, and then I spoke personally with Gil Marín. He told me he wasn’t coming because they had no alternative.

> “Then they reacted inappropriately. I don’t know why, I can imagine, but I have no proof. We were hearing that they would sell him to every club except Barça. Then they dropped the pretense and said it openly.

> “That is now in the past and we are very happy with the squad we have and the coach is very happy with the extraordinary work of Deco.”

Alvarez, 26, has played just once in the league for Atletico Madrid since the end of the transfer window. He has missed the last two games through injury.

Speaking about the drama surrounding his future, former Atletico Madrid star Diego Godin said: "Julian Alvarez is a fantastic player.

> “He must be a great guy, but I think he made a mistake… The fans' anger is completely understandable. We all get that someone might want to leave, but it's about how you leave, the way you go about it.

> “I think we all agree that he messed up. Now he'll have to face the music, and if he wants to repair the relationship, he needs to make good gestures toward the fans."

He added: "I don't know if Julian Alvarez will be able to repair the relationship. It cost Antoine [Griezmann] an enormous amount of effort, and with Julian, we'll see... Time will tell, but what's certain is that people will expect him, at the very least, to give everything on the pitch whenever he gets his chance."

Atletico Madrid will be back in action on Sunday afternoon as they take on cross-city rivals Real Madrid.

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