Diego Simeone has confirmed that Julian Alvarez will be back in Atletico Madrid's squad for Saturday's La Liga trip to face Athletic Club, ending a turbulent spell for the Argentine forward following his unsuccessful attempt to force a move away from the club.
Alvarez, 26, was absent from training for two days last week, with the club citing illness as the reason. However, it later emerged that the striker had been informed privately that Atletico had no intention of selling him to fierce rivals Barcelona. With that route closed off, a switch to Arsenal appeared to be his only realistic path out of the Wanda Metropolitano, and Atletico did enter direct discussions with the Premier League champions over a potential deal. Ultimately, however, no agreement was reached and the transfer collapsed.
As a result, Alvarez was left out of Atletico's matchday squad for last weekend's league fixture at Sevilla. Since then, he has been gradually reintegrated into first-team training, and Simeone confirmed he is now ready to feature again.
"Julian Alvarez will be in the squad tomorrow. He's training well, and we expect the best from him, just as we do from all his team-mates," Simeone said ahead of the match against Athletic Club.
The Atletico boss struck a philosophical tone when discussing the episode, suggesting it could ultimately prove beneficial for the striker's mentality and future at the club. "For me, life is full of opportunities. And Julian now has an opportunity," Simeone said. "A lot of the time, we spend our lives judging, and we need to worry about doing that less and learning more. I hope this has served as a learning experience for him."
Simeone also referenced comments from Atletico's director of football, Paulo Futre, who reportedly sent Alvarez a message of support during the saga. "I hope he's happy and, as Futre told him yesterday in a lovely video... that he shows it by scoring goals," Simeone added.
The situation had escalated significantly last week, with Atletico Madrid issuing two separate public statements within a 24-hour period to make clear their position that Alvarez would not be permitted to join Barcelona under any circumstances. While the club drew a hard line on that specific move, they showed more flexibility regarding a possible sale to Arsenal, engaging in talks with the English side before the deal ultimately fell through.
Despite the drama surrounding his future, Simeone has been keen to smooth things over and reintegrate his forward without lingering tension. Last week, prior to Alvarez's return to training, the Atletico manager stated he would "do everything" possible to ensure the World Cup winner continues to "feel important" at the club moving forward.
Alvarez arrived at Atletico Madrid in 2024 in a big-money £81m transfer from Manchester City and has since become a key figure in the squad, netting 49 goals in 107 appearances across all competitions. Despite his impressive individual output, the 2022 World Cup winner has yet to add a trophy to his cabinet since making the move to the Spanish capital, a factor that may have influenced his desire to explore other options.
With the transfer saga now seemingly behind him, all attention turns to his on-field return. Atletico head to San Mames to take on Athletic Club on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 15:15 BST, as Simeone looks to move past the off-field distractions and refocus his squad on their La Liga campaign.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.