Julian Alvarez's Fallout with Simeone at Atletico Madrid

The mood around the Metropolitano has curdled. What was supposed to be the house Julian Alvarez would help define is now the stage for a very public rupture between Atletico Madrid’s star forward and the man who built the team around him.

Simeone’s patience snaps

Inside the dressing room, the feeling is clear: they are “very, very disappointed” with Alvarez. That’s how La Liga commentator Phil Kitromilides framed it when speaking to CBS Sports, before laying bare just how raw things have become between player and coach.

“What I’ve been told by someone who knows the situation is that Diego Simeone can’t even look at him,” Kitromilides said. “Diego Simeone is furious, absolutely furious with Julian Alvarez. And rightly so.”

This isn’t a standard transfer saga irritation. Simeone had nailed his colours to Alvarez’s mast. When the Argentine striker went close to four months without a goal last season, the Atletico boss never once turned publicly. No digs, no veiled criticism, no threats about his place. Just constant backing.

From cornerstone to lightning rod

Inside the club, Alvarez wasn’t just another forward. He was the plan.

“This is his guy, this is someone who he defended publicly, consistently, last season, when Alvarez went nearly four months without scoring,” Kitromilides explained. “He was never questioned by Simeone, never a bad word from Simeone, constantly backed and supported 100 per cent. This is their most important player, their franchise player. The whole project is built around Julian Alvarez.”

That is why the current situation cuts so deep. Alvarez has been heavily linked with a dramatic move to Barcelona, and those close to Simeone say the coach feels abandoned. After staking so much of his long-term project on the former Manchester City striker, the idea of losing him now has gone down badly with the staff and the dressing room alike.

The tension only escalated when Alvarez missed training sessions last week, stoking the belief that he is pushing for the Camp Nou. He did report back on Sunday and worked with his teammates, but the sense of fracture lingers.

Barcelona watch, Atletico dig in

Barcelona’s interest is no secret. The Catalan club remain strong admirers of the Argentine international and have explored the possibility of prising him away from Madrid. Inside Barca, though, there is also a recognition of how complicated such a deal would be in this window.

That reality has forced a change of course. With Atletico holding firm and refusing to be bullied into a sale, Barcelona have started to look elsewhere to reinforce their attack. Reports indicate they are now closing in on Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal, a target viewed as more attainable than a furious club’s “franchise player”.

For Atletico, that stance is non-negotiable. Publicly, the message is calm: Alvarez is still central, still wanted, still expected to perform.

A fragile truce before the next game

Despite the internal friction, Alvarez is expected to be named in the squad for Atletico’s upcoming fixture. The club know they cannot simply cast aside a player of his stature, not when the season demands goals and leadership in attack.

Behind the scenes, officials are working hard to present an image of normality. They insist the recent absences are being handled, that the focus will return to the pitch, that the project can still run through the same No 9 who now has Barcelona hovering in the background.

“The plan is very clear,” Mateu Alemany said when asked about the situation. “We hope he’ll be back in the team quickly and available for the next LaLiga match.”

So Alvarez will likely pull on the Atletico shirt again, with the coach who “can’t even look at him” standing a few yards away on the touchline. The Metropolitano will watch closely. Is this just a storm before a reconciliation, or the beginning of the end for the player Simeone once made the centre of everything?