According to Álex Silvestre of Spanish outlet El Chiringuito TV, some Atlético Madrid players would prefer Julián Álvarez to leave.

Journalist Álex Silvestre said: “After speaking with people in the Atlético dressing room to find out about the current situation and how they view everything that happened at the Metropolitano Stadium a few days ago, the feedback was that some players in the dressing room feel very uncomfortable with everything that is currently happening. They are deeply unhappy with the current situation, and this even applies to Julián Álvarez.

They are uncomfortable with the current situation, because seeing him training like that and witnessing the various things Julian has been doing makes them feel very uneasy. Indeed, a few days ago, someone told me that they felt Julian was not performing at 100 percent. Regardless of how many excuses we make about the ball not reaching his feet, his form when he comes on is completely different from the Julian we knew before. It is true that everyone feels very uneasy about everything that is happening now.

I also asked what would happen if Julián stayed. I was told that many players in the Atlético dressing room do not understand why the club is not trying to find a way for Julián Álvarez to leave. They would rather see the team’s star player depart than have him stay and watch him in his current state. They also believe this issue cannot be resolved in the short term. In other words, they see a dispirited and unhappy Julián, who has also already told those closest to him that he wants to leave, just as he had previously stated publicly.

Externally, at press conferences and in the mixed zone, the club did indeed give the players a unified line: if asked about the matter, they were supposed to answer with something along the lines of, “No, we want to support Julián, and we stand with him.” But behind closed doors, the reality is that many players now do not want Julián to stay at the club.