Simeone’s powerful message to Julian Alvarez after Barcelona transfer blow

Simeone sends powerful message to Julian Alvarez after Barcelona blow Make us your Google favourite Julian Alvarez has been told to start scoring goals again by Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone, who says that the Argentine has the opportunity of a new start after his dream transfer to Barcelona passed him by this summer. Alvarez, 26, made no secret of his desire to move to Barcelona but the public nature of the Blaugrana’s pursuit generated a rift between the two clubs. While interest also emerged from Arsenal , with a €130 million deal readied, the player’s unwillingness to move back to the Premier League meant that a bid was never made and he was left marooned in Madrid. ‘Julian has a chance to put right a whole host of situations in his life’ Alvarez, who remains under contract with Los Colchoneros until 2030, has been left unhappy about the situation and missed multiple training sessions for Simeone’s side, while the fans chanted against him. His manager, though, is ready to welcome him back for the clash against Athletic Club and says that once the striker starts scoring goals again, the world will seem a better place. Speaking to the press, Simeone said: “He's training very well, he's going to be called up, he'll be part of the group that travels to Bilbao and we expect the best from him and all his team-mates. “Life is full of opportunities, and this is an opportunity for Julian to address and put right a whole host of situations in his life. “We spend all our time learning and, unfortunately, far too much time judging. We all judge, but we need to judge less and focus more on learning. “This experience will give him a great deal of learning, and he has the opportunity to work through things internally so that they can make him a better person, and so that we can see him happy, which is what we want. “We want him to be well, happy and scoring goals, which is what director of football Paulo Futre conveyed to him yesterday with a lovely video, with that joy he has. And I want to send him a big hug for the message he sent.” Simeone on Alvarez’s new competition: ‘We need the Jonathan David of Lille’ Alvarez will have a new rival for the striker role at Atleti, with Canada international striker Jonathan David having arrived on loan from Juventus. “We need the player who was at Lille,” Simeone said of the forward, whose form dipped after leaving France as a free agent in July 2025. “We've spoken with him, and he has qualities that can help our team. We need him to adapt as quickly as possible; he's still in the process because he arrived very recently, but we see him enthusiastic and eager, and we hope the pitch will give us what he wants and what we expect from him.”