Atletico issue brutal public response to Real Madrid Julian Alvarez bid as Barcelona called out
Atletico Madrid have issued a public response to Real Madrid, confirming they have rejected a €150 million bid for Julián Álvarez.
After days of speculation, Álvarez was seemingly confirmed as Florentino Pérez's mystery transfer target.
Álvarez, who is currently preparing for the World Cup with Argentina, has attracted interest from several Champions League clubs, including Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona, who saw a €100 million (£86.3 million) bid rejected by Atlético last week.
In a rather unusual turn of events, as promised by Pérez before he was re-elected as Los Blancos president, Real attempted to sign Atlético's second-most expensive player of all time by lodging a club-record €150 million (£129.4 million) bid for Álvarez.
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However, according to an official Real Madrid statement, their cross-city rivals rejected the offer.
The statement read: "Real Madrid C. F. announces that, following the meeting of the Board of Directors held today, it has made an offer of €150 million to Club Atlético de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julián Álvarez.
"After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Club Atlético de Madrid has expressed its gratitude for the proposal, made within the framework of the good relations between both clubs, and has rejected it, referring to the player's release clause."
Atletico call out Real Madrid and Barcelona over Julian Alvarez bids
But the drama did not stop there, as Atlético swiftly responded via their official X account.
Atleti first quoted Real's statement, posting five crying-laughing emojis before adding what they described as "clarifications" regarding Los Blancos’ statement.
"Official statement with our clarifications regarding the official statement from our neighbours, Real Madrid," the post read.
"1. They cut out the part of the Pope's video where he said he was an Atleti fan too.
"2. You must have confused politeness with gratitude, but to leave no doubt: we don't thank you for anything.
"3. We neither studied nor considered any offer for Julián.
"4. How could we not get along when you make us laugh even more than Barcelona do?"
A second tweet added: “P.S. Taking advantage of the good relationship with your new president, let's see if you stop "stealing" players from our Academy. Thanks a lot, Real Madrid!”
It was initially thought that Alvarez’s Atletico deal contained a €500 million (£431.3 million) release clause.
However, GIVEMESPORT’s Ben Jacobs has since reported that the contract contains "provisions for certain Champions League clubs", including Barcelona, which could allow them to sign Álvarez for closer to €150 million (£129.4 million), making a transfer significantly more affordable.
Álvarez has registered 49 goals and 17 assists in 106 appearances for Diego Simeone's side and is contracted to Atleti until 2030.
Topics: Real Madrid, Transfer News, Julian Alvarez, Atletico Madrid
Luke Davies