Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has again insisted Julian Alvarez will not be allowed to leave the club this summer, adding that Barcelona have been made aware of that stance.
Alvarez has been strongly linked with a move to Camp Nou after saying he wished to leave Atleti to “fulfil his dream” of representing the Blaugrana.
Atletico had previously knocked back an offer from Real Madrid for the Argentina star, who has scored 49 goals in 106 games since joining Los Colchoneros in 2024.
The former Manchester City forward has 66 direct goal involvements for Atletico, more than any other player has registered for the club since his debut.
Barca president Joan Laporta has not been shy about expressing his interest in signing Alvarez, saying that a “significant offer” remains on the table for the 26-year-old.
However, Cerezo has responded to those comments by reiterating his intention to keep Alvarez.
“Laporta is a good friend, he’s a great president, and he knows full well – as you all know – where Julian Alvarez will be playing next year,” Cerezo said, as quoted by ESPN.
“He is an Atletico Madrid player and will continue to be an Atletico Madrid player.”
Atleti will be the club with the most players in the final for the third consecutive World Cup
We’ll also have the largest representation by any club in a World Cup final since Italy 1934, as well as the greatest presence ever by a Spanish club in a World Cup final pic.twitter.com/W44zy5s6ia
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) July 16, 2026
Since the end of the 2025 Club World Cup, Alvarez leads all Atleti players for goal involvements (29 – 20 goals, nine assists), expected goals (17.6 xG), total shots (118) and shots on target (56), scoring with 16.95% of his total attempts.
Alvarez is one of 10 players who could be involved in Sunday’s World Cup final between Argentina and Spain, alongside Juan Musso, Nahuel Molina, Thiago Almada, Nicolas Gonzalez, Giuliano Simeone, Alex Grimaldo, Marc Pubill, Marcos Llorente and Alex Baena.
