Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, the CEO of Atlético Madrid, affirmed his club's commitment to retaining Argentine Julián Álvarez, emphasizing that the team needs his striker's services to continue competing among Europe's elite.
Gil Marín reiterated that Julián Álvarez is not for sale, despite growing talk of Barcelona's interest in signing him, confirming that Atlético Madrid's position has not changed as the transfer window nears its end.
Speaking to the Spanish news agency EFE, Gil Marín said: "Atlético Madrid, like all major clubs, is built on great players, and I am sure Julián is one of them, in addition to being a great professional. We must compete with our values, with our homegrown players, and with the best players from abroad that we can sign."
He added: "We will support Julián and continue to look after him so that he can deliver all his potential to us, because we need him to keep competing among Europe's elite."
Gil Marín pointed to the noise surrounding the player, stating: "We must understand that Julián has not been close to the best advisors regarding his professional career in recent months."
He continued to affirm Atlético Madrid's stance, saying: "The club will not allow other clubs and their affiliated media to decide what we should do, define our sporting strategy, or harm us."
He went on: "That is exactly what they are looking for: to divide us. It is clear that we do not have the same power they do, but we have our values. Atlético Madrid's fans will not allow them to pollute us. Atlético Madrid is strong when we are all united."
It is worth noting that exactly 60 days have passed since the Argentine player announced his desire to leave the Madrid-based team following the Argentina vs. Austria match at the World Cup.
At the time, the player said: "The best thing for everyone is to move, I want to fulfill my dream," revealing what he had avoided discussing until then, which was that this dream involved moving to Barcelona.
Since then, nothing new has happened except for Atlético Madrid's refusal, which denied any possibility of the Argentine player leaving, with the sole exception being the payment of his contract's release clause, which stands at 500 million.
The CEO of Atlético Madrid once again reaffirmed this position.
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