Julián Álvarez's Barcelona Plea 'Really Annoyed' His Own Teammates

Álex Baena did not dress it up. On Cadena SER's El Larguero on Monday night, the Atlético Madrid midfielder was asked about the summer Julián Álvarez spent asking to leave for Barcelona, and he answered for the whole dressing room: "It feels a bit strange when a teammate says publicly that he wants to leave. It didn't sit very well with us."

Then he explained what actually stung. "I can understand a player having doubts if a club like Barça or Real Madrid comes in for you," Baena said, "but, ultimately, it was the way he went about it that really annoyed us at Atlético." Not the ambition. The announcement.

The announcement came in June, during the World Cup, when Álvarez said publicly that he had discussed his future with the club, that "the best thing for everyone would be a transfer," and that playing for Barcelona was his dream. Barcelona believed him. President Joan Laporta confirmed the club's interest in August, and sporting director Deco confirmed in September, as Reuters reported, that an offer had been made — before closing the subject: "Julián is in the past." Atlético never opened the door. The board said publicly it would not negotiate a sale to a direct rival, and Barcelona ended the window by signing Gabriel Jesus instead. Every goal and stat from Sunday's meeting sits on the match's Game Center page.

The home crowd gave its verdict first. Álvarez was booed during August's 2–2 draw with Villarreal at the Metropolitano, and Reuters reported this week that the whistling has subsided since without disappearing. He apologised to the supporters in October, conceding his words had been a mistake in manner and timing. What Baena revealed on Monday, in remarks carried by Barca Universal, is that there was a second apology, and it was delivered inside the room. "He apologised to all of us, and that makes him much more admirable," Baena said. "He's a very intelligent guy — he knew what he had done and how it might have made us feel."

Nobody in that room is pretending the forward is expendable. "We would have supported him regardless of what he decided to do," Baena said. "The important thing is that he is with us now, and we need to show him all the affection in the world." Diego Simeone struck the same note on Sunday, telling his press conference Atlético would wait for Álvarez to return to his best because "he's a great player and we love him." Baena, who joked back in June that he would chain Álvarez down rather than lose him to a rival, understands the supporters' anger too. His version of the way back is work and time. "Little by little," he said, "he'll win back the fans' affection."

The awkward part is the form this is all happening in. Álvarez has two goals in all competitions this season. On Sunday, against the club he wanted to join, he was Atlético's sharpest player in defeat — the cross for Giuliano Simeone's tenth-minute opener, and, as SoccerNews reported, a team-high four shots, seven touches in Barcelona's box and two chances created — and Fermín López's two goals still took the game away, 2–1, ending a seven-game winning run in the league. Baena said the chances are the point: "Any player can have a bad day. Cristiano Ronaldo had them, Messi had them. We should only start worrying when he's no longer getting those four or five chances per game."

Atlético come out of the break at Getafe on November 22, third in LaLiga on 28 points, five behind Barcelona. Álvarez spends this week with Argentina; Baena is away with Spain. When the league resumes, Atlético's biggest player will be chasing goals in front of supporters who still whistle him in places, for a team whose private feelings about his summer are private no longer — and whose public position, from the manager down, is that they are carrying him back anyway.