Barcelona and Atletico Madrid aim to restore relationship after Julian Alvarez saga

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid aim to restore relationship after Julian Alvarez saga According to AS , Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will be looking to restore and re-establish their working relationship after tension between the two parties during the summer owing to the Julian Alvarez transfer saga. Barça president Joan Laporta will lead the club’s delegation to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano for Sunday’s La Liga encounter between the two teams. The club’s directors are also expected to attend a pre-match lunch with their Atlético Madrid counterparts, in what will be a public show of reconciliation after everything went down in the summer. Julian Alvarez at the centre of the issue The disagreement between the two clubs centred on Barcelona’s interest in signing Julian Alvarez in the summer transfer window. Throughout the window, Laporta maintained that the Blaugrana had behaved correctly, arguing that they had made an offer and were prepared to discuss the possibility of a transfer. Barcelona were desperate to sign Alvarez. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images) Alvarez himself had come out and expressed his desire to leave the club to chase his dream, without explicitly naming Barça. However, these antics did not go down well with Atletico Madrid, who stood firm on their stance that the Argentine striker was not for sale for any amount of money. Moreover, the Rojiblancos’ CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin launched scathing attacks on Barcelona on multiple occasions, accusing them of lacking honesty, ethics and transparency in the way they operate. His comments, in turn, drew a strong response from Barcelona’s then-acting president Rafa Yuste, who warned that Gil Marin had crossed a line with his statements. Relationship on the mend Ultimately, though, Barcelona accepted that Alvarez would not leave Atletico Madrid and ended their pursuit of the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner, instead signing Gabriel Jesus from Arsenal. Laporta working on restoring relationship with Atletico. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Meanwhile, there there have been signs of the easing of tensions in recent weeks, following a meeting between Laporta and Gil Marin during the European Football Clubs (EFC) Assembly in Copenhagen. “We saw each other and hugged. I’m sure we’ve already smoothed things over, and from now on everything is clear. He’s a fantastic man who I feel very comfortable with,” Laporta said . Now, the lunch before tomorrow’s match at the Metropolitano will provide another opportunity for the two boards to show that the dispute is behind them.