Barcelona target absent as Atletico Madrid unveil new jerseys | OneFootball

The transfer operation that is expected to grip the whole of Spain during the upcoming summer transfer window is the one involving the Argentine forward, Julian Alvarez, his current club, Atletico Madrid, and the club where he dreams of playing, FC Barcelona.

In one of the most explosive developments in this story, the player himself expressed his desire of leaving the Colchonero club after playing for Argentina in the match against Austria in the World Cup 2026. Although he did not name the Catalan club as his desired destination, he still made it clear that he wants a transfer to realize his dreams.

Unfortunately for the Blaugranes and Alvarez, these comments have only resulted in the Mattress Makers even further strengthening their resolve of not starting negotiations for him. Meanwhile, the forward has also put himself at great risk, as if a transfer does not materialize, he would lose even his current importance in the Madrid team.

But some implications of his comments are already visible. As Mundo Deportivo has noted, this is somewhat visible from his absence from the list of players selected by Atletico to showcase their new jersey for the next season. Despite being one of the biggest stars in their team, the Colchoneros decided to feature Marcos Llorente, Marc Pubill, Giuliano Simeone, and Alex Baena to unveil their new kit, while the Argentine was skipped.

While one can argue that several other notable players, including the likes of Jimenez, Hancko, Pablo Barrios, and Ademola Lookman were also missing, there is no doubt that his recent comments would not have endeared the Spider to the Atletico Madrid fans.

The Colchoneros would still be training with spider inspired jerseys for the next season, but it remains to be seen whether Julian Alvarez himself would get to wear those, or whether he would be playing in the Barcelona jersey next season.