Atletico Madrid set new price for Julian Alvarez after fans boo him in message to Arsenal

Atletico Madrid have slapped a new price tag on Julian Alvarez after he was given a brutal reception by his own fans on Sunday.

Earlier this summer, Alvarez spoke of his desire to move on from Atleti and is understood to be keen on signing for La Liga champions Barcelona.

He made his first appearance on Sunday in the 2-2 draw with Villarreal at the Metropolitano Stadium but was loudly jeered and whistled by the home fans.

When Alvarez's name was read out by the stadium announcer, there were deafening boos.

Footage of him sitting on the bench showed the former Manchester City man looking extremely uncomfortable.

He entered the fray to boos in the 66th minute and was then instructed by the club to refrain from going over to the supporters afterwards - instead walking down the tunnel as his teammates applauded.

An Atletico scarf was thrown at his feet as fans made their feelings clear on what they think of the 26-year-old.

Atletico are adamant that Alvarez is not available for transfer and they are refusing to do business with Barca, who have him as their top striker target after Robert Lewandowski's departure.

However, The Athletic, citing "club leadership sources", say that they would consider offers of €150 million (£128 million) for the Argentina international.

Arsenal told Julian Alvarez fee after contact made last week

The fresh report added that a source close to Atleti's top brass said that the only way they could see Alvarez being sold is if Arsenal table an offer that meets the club's asking price.

Arsenal's interest in Alvarez is known, but there has been no bid from the Premier League champions and there is the feeling that they would be unwilling to offer the aforementioned fee.

Arsenal were in contact with both Atleti and Alvarez's camp last week regarding a deal, but it has been reported that he is not massively interested in a second spell in the Premier League.

His dream is to sign for Barcelona and it's claimed Arsenal would require encouragement that he is open to joining them to push forward with negotiations.

Diego Simeone addressed the situation involving Alvarez after the draw with Villarreal, commenting: “I’m not here to give advice. What I have to do is concentrate on my work, which is, from a sporting sense, to give my best for Atletico Madrid.

“The only thing I know is that if Atletico Madrid want to win a title, we need to be together, we need to have forwards, and we need to have important forwards. And for that, we need to work on it as a result, everyone, on what we need.”

Without a senior striker, Barcelona beat Elche 5-0 in their La Liga opener - with Raphinha and Fermin Lopez both bagging braces and new signing Karim Adeyemi finding the net on his debut.

Fellow new addition Anthony Gordon, who can also play through the middle, registered two assists in his first La Liga appearance after signing from Newcastle.

Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez is said to be Barca's primary alternative to Alvarez but the club are not interested in selling his compatriot.