Sport has published an article criticizing Atletico Madrid CEO Gil Marín.

Gil Marín still speaks about Atletico Madrid as though it were his own personal club. In reality, it no longer is. Apollo Fund is the controlling shareholder. Gil Marín remains CEO only because the fund decided to keep him. He answers to the shareholders; he no longer answers to the legacy (euphemistically speaking) that was passed down to him.

Now it bears reminding that he has turned the Alvarez case into a political demonstration. Gil Marín accuses Barcelona of being dishonest, unethical, non-transparent, and unprofessional. He shouts, hurls accusations, and trumpets his own moral virtue. He even claims that as long as he remains in charge of Atletico Madrid, Alvarez will never move to Barcelona. Is that for as long as he remains there, or for as long as the owners decide?

It perfectly encapsulates the man. The scale and commercial nature of football has changed, but Gil Marín continues to run the club the way his father did—Jesús Gil treated the club as an extension of his family, just as he governed Marbella when he was mayor. The son appears to have inherited this philosophy.

Populism always needs an enemy. Barcelona fits the bill perfectly. He also needs to create momentum. Gil Marín provides it. It is odd that an executive who has worked in football for more than thirty years now expresses outrage about how the transfer market fundamentally works. Every transfer involves two parallel conversations: one with the player and one with the club. First, you must establish whether the player wants to leave. Then, whether his club is willing to sell, and at what price. If the player is unwilling, no deal can be done. If there is no agreement between the clubs, the deal cannot be completed either.

Two doors, two keys, one agreement. Isn't that how Atletico Madrid operates? Haven't they ever asked an agent before making an offer whether their client would be willing to wear the red and white? Haven't they ever reached consensus with a player while negotiating his transfer with another club? Of course they have. Like every other club. Which is why their outrage seems hypocritical. Atletico Madrid's negotiations with Romero are deemed a clever move; Barcelona's negotiations with Alvarez are deemed unethical. Morality depends on your perspective.

Gil Marín has every right to refuse to sell. He can demand 150 million euros, and he can even reject Barcelona and open talks with Arsenal or whichever club he sees fit. But he cannot deny that Alvarez is a worker—the Argentine is not a plot of land, not livestock, not an asset without agency. He has a contract, a career, aspirations, and the right to choose his own future. Atletico Madrid owns his registration, but not his mind. And therein lies the real contradiction: capitalism for owners, but feudalism for players.

Diterjemahkan oleh AI.

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