Diego Simeone has taught Julian Alvarez a lesson by leaving him out to dry.
The Atletico Madrid striker asked to leave the club to ‘take the next step’ in his career while away at the World Cup.
Barcelona have staged an audacious tapping-up campaign across their players, coach and president, but Alvarez won’t be allowed to leave this summer.
The Argentine was unavailable for Atleti’s season opening 2-0 home win over Malaga in LaLiga, but fans still let their thoughts be heard.
Chants of “Julian Alvarez, son of a b*tch” could be heard from the south stand throughout the win.
And when Simeone was asked about them post-match, he refused to come to his player’s defence.
Simeone hangs Alvarez out to dry
“I have great respect for our fans,” Simeone said, in a brutal message to Alvarez.
Barcelona reportedly bid €100million for Alvarez after the World Cup while Real Madrid even put out an official statement confirming a €150m bid.
Yet Atleti president Enrique Cerezo has stuck to the player’s massive €500m release clause.
He also thinks people will quickly change their minds on Alvarez, but we’ll have to wait and see.
Speaking before the Malaga win, he said: “Julian will win over the fans in two matches.
“I don’t know if he’ll apologise, but he is an excellent person and I’m absolutely certain he’ll win over the fans in two matches.
“Julian is an Atletico de Madrid player, he has a contract with Atletico de Madrid, he’s training with Atletico de Madrid, and he’s preparing to have a magnificent and wonderful season.
“I said from the beginning that he wasn’t for sale. That he wasn’t for sale, that he’s our player and an important part of our team, and as such, we want him, we like having him with us, and I think he’s going to have a magnificent season.”
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