Arsenal closer than ever before to Julian Alvarez deal as Atletico CEO defies Diego Simeone’s La Liga demand – report

Atletico Madrid are reportedly embarking on a ‘humiliation campaign’ to try and push Julian Alvarez out of the club amid interest from Arsenal.

After two successful seasons at Atletico, where he scored 49 goals in 106 games, the Argentina international made it clear that he wanted to leave the Spanish outfit.

Amid interest from La Liga rivals Barcelona, the 26-year-old stressed it would be best for all parties if he headed for pastures new for the 2026-27 season.

In late June, Alvarez said, “I spoke with ​people at the club, with those I had to speak with and the ​best thing for everyone is ‌a transfer and 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.”

Alvarez, who was reportedly the subject of a £129million bid that month, is said to have a £431m release clause and for a long time, the Madrid team have insisted he was not for sale.

This weekend, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo explained why Barca fell short in their pursuit of the Argentine, who helped his country reach the World Cup final this summer.

He said, via Fabrizio Romano, “What I consider is that Barcelona wasn’t up to the circumstances and didn’t do what is normally done in this kind of situation.”

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For quite a while now, an Arsenal switch for Alvarez seemed like a long shot, just as their pursuit of Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior proved to be.

However, a fresh claim out of Spain suggests the Gunners may have a real shot of landing the former Manchester City forward.

According to Spanish journalist Juan Jesus, Atletico boss Diego Simeone didn’t want to include Alvarez in their league opener at home to Villarreal on Sunday.

However, he was allegedly overruled by club CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, who wants to “humiliate” Alvarez, with the aim of getting fans to boo him and eventually accept an offer from another team, such as Arsenal.

He tweeted, “Simeone did NOT want to name Julián Álvarez in the squad today. It was a direct order from Gil Marín to subject the player to a ‘humiliation campaign’ in front of the Metropolitano crowd.

“The aim is clear: to get the fans to boo him, to wear him down psychologically so that he gets fed up and ends up accepting any offer from outside the club, including the one from Arsenal.”

Part of this so-called plan has worked as Alvarez was booed by his own fans in the 2-2 draw. The striker came off the bench in the second half, leading to even louder booing from the home faithful.

At this rate, Mikel Arteta’s side may be growing more confident they can strike a deal for Alvarez after all.

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