Julian Alvarez has been left out of Atletico Madrid's squad for their La Liga opener on Wednesday night, further fuelling suggestions he will leave the club.
The Argentine's future has been a subject of discussion all summer with Arsenal and Barcelona keen on the striker, who has expressed a desire to leave the Spanish capital. Atletico have fought to keep hold of Alvarez, who remains their leading light, but ahead of their season opener against Malaga they have begun without the former Manchester City man even on the bench.
Simeone explains Alvarez's absence
Atleti manager Diego Simeone had claimed before the match that Alvarez would be overlooked entirely, citing his need for more training sessions following his summer break. However, the absence has only served to heighten the attention around him.
Atletico have stated that Alvarez's omission is partly due to his run to the World Cup final with Argentina, which afforded him an extended break. But Spanish duo Marcos Llorente and Alex Baena have still been named on the bench despite also making it to the final having similar time away.
Manager's comments on the striker
Simeone had said on Alvarez's integration into the first-team set-up: "I still think the same way. I take care of the sporting side. We've been talking as we always do. From a sporting perspective, we need more training sessions with him so he can improve. He's one of the best attacking players... if not the best."
It has been widely reported that Simeone and Alvarez had held face-to-face talks, where the forward reiterated his desire to leave, but his boss insists he remains a key figure despite a desire to join Barcelona, his preferred destination despite Arsenal's interest.
Building the team around Alvarez
"I deal with the sporting side," the Atletico boss said on Tuesday. "[Julian] is an extraordinary lad. We spoke, as we always do... We need more training sessions with him. He's the best player we have in attack, I've said that and I still think that. I want to build a team around him."
Simeone also added, referencing previous transfer sagas at the club: "People will have their opinions. I'm very respectful of people's opinions, I always have been in these situations - Diego Costa, [Antoine] Griezmann and now Julián."
