According to Marca, Alvarez will return to Atletico Madrid for training today, but he expressed his desire to leave the team more than a month ago, and Atletico Madrid has no intention of selling him.
In the early hours of June 23rd, during the World Cup, Alvarez publicly stated his desire to leave Atletico Madrid. That night, Argentina had just defeated Austria, and Messi had made history in the World Cup. For "The Spider," none of that mattered; he prioritized his future over the positive atmosphere within the Argentine team. His statement caused a stir; the Atletico Madrid star had taken a step that seemed irreversible. A month and a half has passed, and the situation remains unchanged. Today, Alvarez will reunite with Simeone and his teammates, and both sides are clear about their intentions. At least, both sides are currently sending that signal.
"To be honest, I don't know. Now is not the time to talk about this, but I can't avoid it or pretend nothing's wrong. Ultimately, I've always tried to be an honest person, and I've spoken with the people at the club I needed to talk to. I think the best thing for everyone is a transfer, to realize my dream." Alvarez was emotional at the time, speaking to the world. That dream was then, and according to those close to him, still is: to join Barcelona. Fifty days later, the only thing that seemed certain was that the "Spider" would begin his pre-season preparations as an Atlético Madrid player.
Monday was originally scheduled for Alvarez's return to Atletico Madrid's training camp. Despite various rumors and even doubts about whether the Argentine striker would appear, he underwent a medical examination along with Marcos Llorente and Alex Baena. This was just the first contact. Pre-season training began at the Advanced Sports Medicine Center at Arturo Soria University Hospital in Madrid, Visas. Atletico Madrid continues to send normal signals: all players must go through this step before starting training; there's nothing mysterious about it.
Meanwhile, Barcelona is still speculating about a meeting that wasn't on any of the parties' schedules. The Rojiblancos returned home from their trip to South Korea, receiving a two-day break. Simeone was also one of the main figures in that supposed meeting; he left directly from Barajas airport to reunite with his family. Luis Pinedo and several members of his staff didn't get to enjoy the break, as they had to continue training the World Cup players who returned late. Only Pubil, Grimaldo, and Giuriano trained at Cerro on Monday, with the others joining on Tuesday.
If Wednesday was destined to be busy for Alvarez, then yesterday was no less hectic. The Argentine striker was once again in the spotlight all day. At the start of the morning, when he was absent from the World Cup players' training session, rumors about him intensified again. However, the alarms were quickly de-escalated. As Atlético Madrid had previously stated, the national team players would train at different paces. Alvarez first trained separately with Atlético's fitness coach and accompanying staff, and then in the afternoon joined his teammates who had been called to Cero, attending a gym session with other World Cup finalists and Lee Kang-in. This poured cold water on those who thought the Argentine striker would exert excessive pressure.
Atletico Madrid have remained calm regarding the Argentine's return to training, but are also somewhat weary of the ongoing media frenzy surrounding Alvarez. The striker from Calción will reunite with Simeone and his teammates today, but nothing has changed since June 23. Atletico Madrid maintains the same clear stance: Alvarez is not for sale. Meanwhile, various media outlets insist that the "Spider's" ambitions remain with Barcelona. Regardless of whether any camps truly exist today, both sides' positions are clear. Neither stance appears to have shifted.
