Atletico Madrid are insisting there is 0% chance of selling Julian Alvarez to Barcelona, in what could be a possible boost for Arsenal.
In a somewhat chaotic saga that has gone on throughout this summer, Alvarez remains an Atletico Madrid player, but seems likely to move after falling out with his current employers.
Things have gone slightly back and forth so far today, with Fabrizio Romano reporting earlier this morning that Alvarez was absent from Atletico training and still keen to join Barcelona…
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?? Julián Álvarez, absent from training at Atlético Madrid due to illness as he feels unwell — as @marca reports.
Arsenal are still attentive to the situation if Julián decides at any point to open doors to a move.
Álvarez only indicated Barcelona as desired club so far. pic.twitter.com/iDAbTClID7
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 26, 2026
Meanwhile, the Independent have reported on Atletico being keen to resolve this saga by Friday, with some sign of the Argentina international perhaps warming to the idea of moving to Arsenal despite his Barca preference.
Is Julian Alvarez joining Barcelona or not?
Still, Barcelona president Joan Laporta has spoken publicly about wanting to sign Alvarez, while Florian Plettenberg reported below on the Catalan giants now being in a better position to be able to afford the 26-year-old…
?? BREAKING | Understand FC Barcelona have made their decision internally: Julian Alvarez until Deadline Day or nothing!
Hansi Flick fully supports the move. Deco is pushing for Alvarez and will not give up.
Other strikers have been explored, but if Alvarez cannot be signed,… pic.twitter.com/NPF54EtMyB
— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) August 26, 2026
This perhaps started to point towards Barcelona being strongly in contention for Alvarez again, though Atletico have once again come out strongly to insist there’s no way of that happening.
In a statement reported by Marca, Atletico said: “The player is being victimized, but the only victim of the Julián case is us.
“They have harmed us economically and socially. There is 0% chance of selling him to Barça. This situation is not about money, it’s about dignity. There is 0% chance of selling it to Barça.
There’s a campaign with many lies and half-truths. The only one who pays for this is Atlético.”
Can Arsenal still sign Julian Alvarez?
It’s important to note that Atletico have not ruled out selling Alvarez, but have only ruled out selling him to Barcelona in particular.
It makes sense that the Madrid outfit don’t want to strengthen a major La Liga rival, so that could be good news for Arsenal.
Still, there are also question-marks about continuing to target a player who isn’t that sold on playing for your club.
How do you see this saga ending? Let us know in the comments!
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