The Metropolitano welcomes Julián Álvarez with whistles
The Argentine will start the match on the bench
It was the name of the day. Julián Alvarez was returning to the Metropolitano and the fans' verdict was swift. When his name was announced over the stadium loudspeakers, the booing was deafening. La Araña, who had monopolized all the spotlight in the build-up, was also a negative protagonist before the match kicked off. The rojiblanco supporters made their displeasure clear with the attitude of the Argentine player throughout the summer, including a transfer request.
One by one, the names of all the players appeared as the announcer called them over the stadium loudspeakers. The applause followed one after another until Julián’s name appeared. At that moment, the Metropolitano responded with a loud chorus of boos for the red-and-white number 19. In that way, La Araña saw for himself the anger of a fanbase that had been expecting a gesture from him before he put on the Atlético shirt again. That did not happen.
To briefly summarize how events unfolded over these past months, last May 25 MARCA broke the soap opera of the summer: Julián Alvarez sat down with Atlético’s executives to tell them that his dream and wish was to continue his career playing for Barça. Thus began a very tough summer for the red-and-white supporters . Just a few weeks later, during the World Cup, the striker spoke out. It was the early hours of June 23, and the football world came to a standstill because of Julián’s statements.
“The truth is that I don’t know. It’s not the time to talk about this, but I can’t hide either or pretend nothing’s going on. Honestly, I try to be an honest person and I spoke with the people at the club I needed to speak with. I think the best thing for everyone is a transfer and to fulfill my dream,” a nervous Julián Álvarez said. After those statements, it would be Miguel Ángel Gil’s turn. The Atlético CEO made it clear time and again, on three separate occasions, that Julián was not going to leave the red-and-white club. Today, he has had to face his fans after months of tension.
