Julian Alvarez faced a chorus of jeers from Atletico Madrid fans on Sunday during his return to the pitch, amid reports he is attempting to force a move away from the club. The Argentinian, 26, was met with deafening whistles when he was brought on in the 66th minute against Villarreal.
Alvarez has been heavily linked with a transfer to Premier League champions Arsenal, as well as Barcelona. However, Atletico Madrid reportedly maintain that he is not for sale, leading to growing friction between the player and the club.
The forward was named on the bench for Atletico's first home match of the season. After being jeered during his warm-up, Alvarez reportedly walked straight down the tunnel at full-time, seemingly furious with the reception, rather than thanking the fans with his teammates.
The match against Villarreal ended in a 2-2 draw. Gerard Moreno equalised from the spot for Villarreal, cancelling out Marc Pubill’s opener, before Georges Mikautadze put the visitors ahead with another penalty. Alvarez's countryman Giuliano Simeone then rescued a point for Atletico five minutes from time.