Julian Alvarez took part in his first training session under Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone since expressing a desire to leave the club and pursue his “dream” during the World Cup.
The Argentina striker remains the subject of transfer speculation, with several reports claiming he is pushing for a move to Barcelona during the current summer transfer window. Atletico Madrid, however, are continuing to insist that they want to keep the striker.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Alvarez’s return to training passed without any obvious tension. The newspaper reported: “Everything was completely normal, with the Argentine striker like anyone else under the orders of Cholo, who did not hesitate to put him in the starting line-up when it came to tactical work, forming a partnership with Lemar.”
Simeone is widely known as Cholo, and the manager included Alvarez in the first-choice line-up during the tactical part of the session. Alvarez was paired with Thomas Lemar as Atletico worked through their drills.
A conversation between the manager and the player had also been anticipated. It was not known whether that discussion eventually took place, but Mundo Deportivo confirmed that Alvarez left Atletico Madrid’s training ground at 11:00 BST, at the same time as the rest of his team-mates.
On an adjoining pitch next to pitch four, Alvarez completed an additional physical session alongside Giuliano Simeone, Koke, Lemar, Marcos Llorente, Baena, Pubill and Grimaldo. The group worked under fitness coach Luis Pinedo, while Diego Simeone passed by at one stage to watch his players during the exercise.
Alvarez appeared somewhat isolated during the 15-minute period open to the media. He spoke only to Lemar, while Koke, Baena and Llorente exchanged jokes without appearing concerned about the cameras focused on their team-mate.
The tactical session began afterwards.
Alvarez’s position has become a major talking point around Atletico Madrid after the Argentina international reportedly indicated during the World Cup that he wanted to depart in order to fulfil a personal ambition. The reports linking him with Barcelona have intensified during the summer, despite Atletico’s determination to retain him.
Wednesday’s training session therefore provided the first public opportunity to observe Alvarez working directly with Diego Simeone since those comments. While the session itself appeared routine, attention remained on the relationship between the player and manager, as well as the forward’s next step amid continued uncertainty over his Atletico future.
