Barcelona Target Alvarez And Simeone Showdown Talks Take Key Twist

Showdown talks between Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone and FC Barcelona target Julian Alvarez have had an important update as reported by Mundo Deportivo and several other outlets.

Monday August 10 was expected to be the day that Alvarez sat down with Simeone face-to-face and told him that he wants to join the Catalans.

Alvarez has been on holiday after reaching the World Cup final with Argentina and Simeone’s son Giuliano, while Simeone should have returned from a 3-1 friendly loss to Alvarez’s former club Manchester City in Seoul.

As it happens, however, Wednesday August 13 is the earliest that the showdown will take place.

Simeone has opted not to return to the Spanish capital yet. Instead, he’s taking a few days off before getting stuck into what remains of Atleti’s preseason preparations ahead of a La Liga opener against Malaga on the 19th.

As a consequence, Julian might have to train as normal with the rest of the first team group and await Simeone’s arrival barring a dramatic move such as going on strike.

Speaking from South Korea at the weekend, Simeone indicated that Atletico Madrid will keep Alvarez.

“The situation is very clear, the entity made a decision that (Atleti CEO) Miguel Angel (Gil Marin) explained very well,” Simeone said, in a nod to comments Gil Marin had made earlier ruling out a sale.

“We are very happy with Julian, from a sporting point of view we will help him to continue growing, to continue improving and to give us again what he has given us in these two years, which was a lot.

“We have already seen what happened with [Antoine] Griezmann, I don’t see any other way than to work from the sporting side as we have to, and try to help as we have done these two years,” he added, in what appeared to be a warning not to follow the Frenchman’s steps and possibly replicate his 2019 flop move.

At the World Cup, though, Julian stated that it is his “dream” to don Blaugrana, though he didn’t name Barça explicitly.

“I don’t think it’s the time to talk, but I can’t hide either. I try to be an honest person. I spoke to the people at the club, who I had to talk to. I think the best thing for everyone is a transfer and I want to fulfill my dream,” Alvarez said, following a victory over Austria in North America.

With three weeks to spare until the transfer window closes, there’s still plenty of time for Barcelona to get something over the line and bring Julian to Catalonia, however.

This article was originally published on Forbes.com