Barcelona send Julian Alvarez message after Atletico Madrid transfer saga

Barcelona sporting director Deco has made an official statement regarding the future of Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez.

The Catalan club spent the summer chasing the Argentina international striker to no avail. Although a bid was put on the table by Barca, Atletico Madrid said that the forward would not leave for Camp Nou unless his €500 million release fee was triggered.

The fallout was dramatic. Alvarez reportedly suffered from mental health issues related to the deal and missed training, while a rift was opened between the two clubs as a war of words was played out in public.

Deco has now sought to smooth over the situation, assuring Atleti that their aspirations of signing Julian are now in the past.

“The idea has always been to bring in a number nine of mobility, of the ability to associate and Julián was one of these. The deal was not possible, we have made an offer. The club has always said that they would not sell him, and we had to look for other solutions,” Deco said in an interview with AS.

“Julian is in the past, we have to look forward, we are happy with our squad. I hope he's well, he's helping his club and in the end that's it. In other words, there are many deals, many signings that don’t happen.”

Gabriel Jesus signing not planned by Barcelona

Barcelona ultimately signed Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal in a €10 million transfer, which Deco admits came as a surprise. However, he says the logic that brought the Brazilian to Spain was the same that had led them to target Alvarez in the first place.

“Gabriel Jesus was not in our plans since we did not know his situation because there was a lot of talk that he could renew at Arsenal,” Deco explained. “The moment we decided that Julian was impossible, we began to look for solutions and Gabriel was the perfect one for us.

“So the idea did not change. The idea was to look for a player of the same profile.”

Gabriel Jesus has started strongly with his new side, scoring two goals in just 41 minutes of pitch time.

Meanwhile, for Julian Alvarez, the acceptance that a deal with Barcelona was not possible has had a more profound fallout. He has yet to score for Atletico Madrid this season, while he has also been jeered by the fans. Diego Simeone has used him exclusively as a substitute in La Liga, though his role is expected to grow in the coming weeks.