Barcelona fined by Spanish FA over Julian Alvarez pursuit after Atletico Madrid complaint
Julian Alvarez ended up staying at Atletico Madrid despite significant interest from Barcelona
Atletico Madrid's complaint about Barcelona's contact with Julian Alvarez has ended in a €602 (£503) fine for the Catalan club, imposed by the Spanish FA on Tuesday.
The complaint centred on claims that Barcelona approached the striker without first telling Atletico in writing.
Alvarez is under contract at Atletico until June 2030.
The sanction was issued under Article 133 of the federation's regulations. Atletico also took the matter to Fifa, which declared it had no jurisdiction over the case.
On the pitch, the striker has been doing his repair work in public. He scored Atletico's winner against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday, finding the net for a second successive match.
The victory moved his side within two points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona.
After the goal, Alvarez apologised for expressing his desire to join their rivals.
"It was a mistake. I understand why the fans are angry. If I were a fan, I'd be angry too. Especially given how they've supported me since I arrived," Alvarez said referring to an interview during the 2026 World Cup in which he said that he "wanted to fulfil his dream" of playing for Barcelona, triggering a transfer dispute that stretched through the summer transfer window.
Alvarez has been frequently booed by the home fans this season.
But he received a standing ovation from sections of the crowd after scoring on Saturday, a sign of a thawing relationship with the Metropolitano faithful.
Alvarez was also linked with a move to Premier League champions Arsenal over the summer, but the move failed to materialise as the Argentine striker ended up staying at Atletico.
The Gunners have instead relied on Kai Havertz and Viktor Gyokeres to lead the line this season, and have made a positive start to the campaign under Mikel Arteta.
Arsenal are currently only behind Manchester City on goal difference at the top of the Premier League, while they have taken seven points from their opening three Champions League matches.
A 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich last week indicated Arsenal could be in the running for the Champions League against this season after losing in the final to PSG back in May.
