The complaint for Julián Álvarez, a melon that in general does not interest to open

BarcelonaDespite Miguel Ángel Gil Marín breaking the silence to assure that Julián Álvarez is not for sale, the reality is that both the CEO of Atlético de Madrid and a good part of the employees in the offices of the mattress club are convinced that it is highly probable that the forward will leave the club this summer. Could he stay? Yes, if no agreement is finally reached with the potential clubs, but El Aranya wants to leave and Apollo, the investment fund that recently controls the entity, is already willing to do business with the Argentine footballer. The problem is the destination. Because Julián wants to play for Barça, a club he has dreamed of since he was a child. However, the mattress leaders do not want to strengthen a direct rival in the fight for the League, Cup, and Super Cup titles. They prefer PSG. Or Arsenal, which would be willing to make an exchange offering money and with the Swede Viktor Gyökeres as a bargaining chip. However it ends, everyone is clear that the saga will be long and will have plot twists.

One of the latest, the one about the footballer publicly acknowledging that he wants to leave. At the Argentine national team's training camp, after the victory against Austria in the World Cup, Julián came out in the mixed zone to admit that he has spoken with the mattress club directors and that "the best thing is a transfer" to be able to "fulfill" his "dream". Julián did not explicitly state the destination club, but everyone interpreted that he was referring to Barça. Basically, because he had already said since he was little that he would like to wear the blaugrana shirt someday. At Atlético de Madrid, who are in a fierce battle with the entity chaired by Joan Laporta, they didn't waste time reacting and notifying, first to the newspaper "As and then to EFE, who want to report Barça to FIFA for having tried to sign a player without a contract.

Both the newspaper and the news agency refer to a statement sent to their newsroom, but this document has not been posted on Atlètic's website or distributed through their official channels. Instead, the entity did cause a stir on social media a few weeks ago when they received a first written offer from Barça, which put around 100 million on the table. The response was a series of tweets on X mocking the proposal and responding, in a playful tone, that they had also made offers to sign players like Pedri, Lamine Yamal, or Raphinha.

Apart from the statement, the only words of protest came from Gil Marín, who in a conversation with EFE assured that Barça had "disrespected" them. That said, the CEO admitted that Julián had informed them that he wanted to leave Atlètic de Madrid but added that they had replied that they did not want to sell his federative rights. In the teletype where an excerpt of the conversation is made, there is no explicit mention of the complaint. Only implicit. From Camp Nou they assure ARA that they have "no knowledge" of any movement in this regard and that there is "absolute tranquility" in the offices.

If it were filed, would it have any traction? This is the big unknown. Legally, FIFA's transfer regulations establish in article 18.3 that it is not permitted to contact a player without having previously notified their club – unless they have less than six months left on their contract – and in article 22, that it would be the FIFA Dispute Chamber that could apply a sanction, which would entail an economic fine and the impossibility of registering players for up to a maximum of two years. Furthermore, full proof is not required to demonstrate it. Indications are enough, such as messages, emails, or meetings with the agents involved. However, while jurists consulted by ARA agree that this hypothetical complaint could "make sense," they believe it would have "little traction," and maintain that "contacting a player with an ongoing contract is a common practice." Therefore, it would be "opening a can of worms that no one is interested in opening, because everyone does it." In practice, this complaint is rarely filed. In fact, it is difficult to find recent precedents.

The extreme case that could end with a sanction

It would be different if Julián declared himself in rebellion, if he decided not to show up for training or took some forceful measure, such as unilaterally terminating his contract. Then the complaint would be justified, provided that Atlético de Madrid could prove that the footballer has been induced by a third club, in this case Barça. But even so, Miguel Galán, president of CENAFE and a law graduate, reminds X that it would be a very strange case and that one of the few precedents, the signing of Gaël Kakuta by Chelsea (2007), was punished by FIFA, but that the TAS finally ruled in favor of the player and the blue club.

At Barça they do not know if they will be able to sign Julián Álvarez or not, but in the offices the thesis prevails that the mattress maker's threat only serves to "look good to the fans by pretending to do something".