Atletico Madrid launched a unprecedented social media assault on Barcelona as tensions over the way forward for Julian Alvarez spilled into the general public area.
The Madrid membership used a collection of sarcastic posts to mock reviews linking the Argentina ahead with a transfer to the Catalan giants, whereas additionally accusing their rivals of conducting a “smear marketing campaign” towards certainly one of their gamers.
In response to reviews, Barcelona have opened discussions over a deal for Alvarez and are ready to submit a proposal value round €90 million (£77.9m), though Atletico are anticipated to reject any strategy.
Atletico joke about signing Yamal
In response to the hypothesis, Atletico posted a tongue-in-cheek switch provide for Barcelona winger Lamine Yamal.
The membership claimed that they had despatched a proposal consisting of 4 tickets to a Dangerous Bunny live performance, an annual newspaper subscription and a bag of sunflower seeds in trade for the Spain worldwide.
The submit was accompanied by a mock switch announcement and fashioned a part of a string of satirical messages aimed toward Barcelona.
Atletico additionally jokingly made presents for Pedri and Raphinha, together with a proposal involving six live performance tickets and one other referencing membership president Enrique Cerezo’s earlier mix-up when naming fictional gamers “Tom Ford” and “Smith”.
Social media posts entice enormous consideration
The barrage of messages was printed over the course of simply over an hour and rapidly gained traction on-line, reportedly showing in additional than 55 million feeds on X.
Whereas the early posts had been light-hearted in tone, Atletico later adopted a extra critical stance as they addressed ongoing hypothesis surrounding Alvarez.
The membership warned supporters about misinformation on-line, stating that actuality may simply be manipulated and urging followers to not consider all the pieces they learn concerning Barcelona.
Atletico accuse Barcelona of disrespect
In a subsequent assertion, Atletico claimed that they had been subjected to months of unfavourable protection surrounding certainly one of their gamers.
The membership alleged that leaks, fabricated tales and makes an attempt to unsettle gamers had fashioned a part of a coordinated effort to affect public opinion in the course of the switch saga.
Atletico additionally referenced Barcelona’s long-running authorized points referring to former Spanish referees’ committee vice-president Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, in addition to the membership’s well-documented participant registration difficulties.
Barcelona have constantly denied wrongdoing concerning the Negreira case, whereas investigations stay ongoing.
Alvarez stays key determine for Atletico
The switch hypothesis centres on Alvarez, who has scored 20 objectives in all competitions this season.
The Argentina worldwide joined Atletico from Manchester City in 2024 in a deal value as much as £81.5 million and has rapidly turn into certainly one of Diego Simeone’s most essential attacking gamers.
With Atletico displaying no want to promote and Barcelona persevering with to discover attacking reinforcements, the dispute between the 2 Spanish giants seems unlikely to vanish anytime quickly.
