Barcelona top target holds key meeting with manager to make exit intentions clear | OneFootball

Julian Alvarez’s future has taken another turn after the Argentine forward held a direct conversation with Diego Simeone as Barcelona continue to monitor the situation.

According to Pedro Fullana, Alvarez spoke with his manager before Wednesday’s training session and explained his current position regarding the uncertainty surrounding his future.

The Argentine forward has been at the centre of one of the summer’s biggest transfer stories after openly expressing his desire to leave Atletico Madrid, with Barcelona emerging as his preferred destination.

Simeone, however, remains reluctant to lose one of the most important players in his squad.

For now, though, the Argentine striker has returned to first-team training, putting him face-to-face with a manager who still wants him to remain in Madrid.

Alvarez explains his position to Simeone

Alvarez held discussions with Diego Simeone. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

Alvarez returned to Atletico’s first-team group on Wednesday after initially completing medical checks and then working individually on Tuesday.

His return marked his first full training session with the Rojiblancos since his involvement at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

The two Argentines discussed Alvarez’s future before the training session, with the striker explaining his situation directly to his manager, who wants the forward to stay.

From the player’s side, however, there has been a clear desire for a different outcome, with Barcelona believed to be his preferred destination.

Barcelona continue to wait for Atletico’s position

It has been known for a while that Barcelona are the only club pushing for Alvarez, but Atletico have repeatedly made it clear that they do not want to negotiate his departure.

Barcelona are not giving up on Julian Alvarez. (Photo by Florencia Tan Jun/Getty Images)

On that note, Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has publicly backed that stance, with the club pointing to Alvarez’s contract, which runs until 2030, as well as his €500 million release clause.

That effectively gives Atletico enormous leverage in any potential Barcelona transfer.

On top of that, the situation is made even more complicated by the relationship between the two clubs.

Barcelona’s contacts with Alvarez’s representatives while the striker remained under contract at Atletico led to an extraordinary disciplinary procedure being opened by the Disciplinary Committee of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.

Despite this, Barcelona have not abandoned their interest, but Atletico’s position means completing the deal would be extremely difficult without a major change in circumstances.