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Miguel Ángel Gil Marín has accused Barcelona of ‘dishonesty’ and appeared to close the door on the Argentina forward’s potential move
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Football — Reuters and Guardian sport
Atlético Madrid’s chief executive appeared to slam the door on Barcelona’s pursuit of Júlian Alvarez on Thursday. Miguel Ángel Gil Marín accused the Catalan club of dishonesty and insisted the Argentina forward would “never, ever” be sold to them.
Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus, Gil Marín delivered a blistering response to Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, who had said on Wednesday that his club remained “very interested” in signing Alvarez.
Related: Julián Álvarez walks alone at Atlético in transfer saga with no end – and no winners | Sid Lowe
Gil Marín said Atlético were united from top to bottom in refusing to negotiate with Barcelona over a deal for a player they insists is not for sale to their La Liga rivals.
“The truth is that it outrages us even more; we are repulsed by the dishonesty, the lack of ethics, transparency and professionalism, and we can only insist that we will not negotiate with Barcelona under any circumstances,” Gil Marín said.
“I have the support of everyone working with me, from shareholders to directors, and the only certain and firm decision is that we will not negotiate with Barcelona under any circumstances,” he added. “You have my word – the player [Alvarez] will most certainly not be transferred to Barcelona.“
The Barcelona vice-president, Rafa Yuste, reacted angrily to Gil Marín’s remarks. “It is a lack of manners and respect,” Yuste told Movistar. “With those words, they’ve crossed a red line.”
Earlier on Thursday, Atlético’s board of directors unanimously backed the club’s stance on Alvarez, ruling out talks with Barcelona and saying there was “zero consideration” of a transfer before the summer transfer window closes.
Gil Marín said the situation had affected Alvarez. “Júlian is really struggling; there have been people who have set out to deceive and confuse him, and I’m very sorry about that,” Gil Marín said.
Alvarez was booed by Atleti fans during their 2-2 home draw with Villarreal on Sunday, having stated his desire to leave. While on World Cup duty with Argentina this summer, the 26-year-old revealed he wanted to “fulfil my dream” by departing the club.
“I know him and we’ve been working with him for some time,” Gil Marín added. “He’s a great professional and footballer, but he’s very confused and going through a very difficult time, both personally and professionally.“
Arsenal have also been linked with a move for the former Manchester City forward, but Gil Marín said his preference was for the player to remain in Madrid beyond Tuesday’s deadline.
“Our intention and my personal dream is for him to stay with us, to remain at Atlético,” he said. “To compete amongst the greats, you need great players, and Júlian is one. If he believes that staying at Atlético is no longer feasible, we will look for an alternative, but it will never, ever be Barcelona.”
Rodri makes Barça debut in win over Athletic
Raphinha and Fermin López scored in either half and Rodri made his debut off the bench as Barcelona beat Athletic Club 2-0 at Camp Nou in their first home match of the new La Liga season.
Barça opened the scoring in the 37th minute, Raphinga rounding goalkeeper Unai Simón after Pedri’s through ball split the Athletic defence. Fermin sealed the win in the 82nd when he pounced on Aymeric Laporte’s defensive error from Karim Adeyemi’s low cross and finished from inside the penalty box.
Hansi Flick’s side controlled most of the game and created the better chances, although Simon kept the visitors in contention with several important saves. Flick also handed winger Anthony Gordon his full debut, with Rodri coming on for Raphinha to make his first appearance for Barça.
Flick made three changes from the team that began the campaign with a 5-0 win at Elche, handing Anthony Gordon his full debut and bringing in Pau Cubarsi and Pedri. New signing Rodri started on the bench.
“Happy to play my first match,” Rodri told Dazn after the game. “It is important for me to regain my rhythm and adapt to this great team. It has been a long summer … I’m very happy, I am where I wanted to be. Now we have to work.”
Speaking to Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus, Gil Marín delivered a blistering response to Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, who had said on Wednesday that his club remained “very interested” in signing Alvarez.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Reuters and Guardian sport. Published 27 Aug 2026, 10:16 pm.
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