Atletico Madrid escalate Julian Alvarez row with Barcelona through mock transfer posts

The growing tension between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona over Julian Alvarez increased on Friday.

Atletico launched a series of sarcastic social media posts centred on Barcelona’s pursuit of Alvarez.

The Catalan club have reportedly made a €100 million offer for the Argentina international.

Atletico have consistently maintained that they do not want to sell the striker and have become increasingly frustrated by the speculation surrounding his future.

Those frustrations were made clear on Friday when the Madrid club began posting a series of mock transfer announcements across their social media channels.

Atletico first teased a statement regarding what they described as ‘disinformation’ before publishing an edited image of Barcelona star Lamine Yamal wearing an Atletico shirt.

The post jokingly claimed Atletico had offered Barcelona four tickets to a Bad Bunny concert, an annual newspaper subscription and a bag of sunflower seeds in exchange for the teenager.

The club then followed up with another edited image, this time featuring Gavi, while claiming they had improved their offer by increasing the number of concert tickets available.

A third post showed Raphinha in Atletico colours, accompanied by a tongue-in-cheek message suggesting the Brazilian would join on loan as part of a deal involving the loan of two fictional players.

The posts were accompanied by a broader message warning supporters not to believe everything they see online.

“And remember, it took us just five minutes to create this fake post,” Atletico wrote on Instagram.

“We live in an era where reality can be altered. Don’t believe everything you see, especially if it’s related to Barca.”

Atletico later widened the attack with another message aimed at Barcelona sporting director Deco before publishing a strongly worded statement accusing him of helping fuel speculation around Alvarez.

The Madrid club complained about what they described as self-serving leaks, misinformation and a lack of respect towards one of their players.

The latest exchange marks a significant escalation in a transfer saga that has quickly become one of the most talked-about stories of the summer.

Barcelona are keen on Alvarez as they look to strengthen their attack ahead of next season.

The 26-year-old scored 20 goals in 49 appearances this term and is contracted until 2030.

While Barcelona are pushing to secure a deal, Atletico’s public response has made their position crystal clear.

The club have no intention of making negotiations easy and are determined to challenge the growing speculation surrounding one of their most important players.