Julian Alvarez misses Atletico Madrid training for second day in a row amid Barcelona speculation | OneFootball

It is looking less and less likely that Barcelona will sign Julian Alvarez this summer, but the saga is not over yet. The Argentine striker is desperate to join the reigning La Liga champions, but with Atletico Madrid continuing to block any sale to a direct rival, he knows that he would have to take matters into his own hands in order to get his dream move.

Until now, Alvarez has not made a serious push to leave Atleti beyond letting the club know that he wants to join Barcelona. He’s been under Diego Simeone’s orders since returning from the 2026 World Cup, and he featured as a substitute during Los Colchoneros’ 2-2 home against Villarreal at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano last weekend.

That has changed in the last couple of days. Alvarez missed Atleti training on Wednesday due to illness, and as per Marca, the same issue has caused him to be absent from Thursday’s session too.

Atleti could be tricky position if Alvarez does choose to strike

Understandably, the fact that Alvarez has missed two training sessions in a row that got a lot of people talking. Some believe that a boycott period has now begun, which could make a move to Barcelona more likely, knowing that Atleti may be unable to count upon their star striker if he takes this stance over an extended period of time.

At this point, any suggestion of a boycott is pure speculation. The official reason for Alvarez’s absence on Thursday is illness, as was the case for Wednesday too, and there is no reason to believe anything otherwise. Nevertheless, Barcelona are still holding out hope of finally getting their man before the transfer window closes, and they are prepared to wait until the deadline, so that they are ready to strike if the door is opened by Atleti.