Julián Álvarez's public wish to leave Atlético Madrid in June "didn't sit very well" with his teammates, Álex Baena has revealed — and the way the striker went about it "really annoyed" a dressing room that says it would have backed him either way.
Speaking to Cadena SER on Monday night, Baena gave the first inside account of how Atlético's squad reacted when Álvarez said publicly in June that he had discussed his future with the club and that "the best thing for everyone would be a transfer". The comments opened a summer saga that dominated Spanish football headlines, with Barcelona circling and Atlético refusing to sell their star forward.
"It feels a bit strange when a teammate says publicly that he wants to leave. It didn't sit very well with us," Baena said, in comments reported by Reuters. "I can understand a player having doubts if a club like Barça or Real Madrid comes in for you, but, ultimately, it was the way he went about it that really annoyed us at Atlético."
A summer saga Atlético refused to sanction
The timeline explains the frustration. Barcelona president Joan Laporta confirmed in August that Barça were interested in signing Álvarez, but Atlético refused to sell. Sporting director Deco confirmed in September that Barcelona had made an offer, while adding that "Julián is in the past" — a line that closed the transfer story without closing the argument about how it had been handled.
For Atlético, the issue was never simply that a player was tempted. Big clubs test loyalties every summer, and Baena himself acknowledged that interest from Barcelona or Real Madrid can turn any player's head. The dressing-room complaint, as Baena framed it and as SABC Sport's account of the interview also underlines, was about method: a private conversation with the club became a public statement, and his teammates learned the strength of his feelings at the same time as everyone else.
Álvarez has history at the Metropolitano worth protecting — he was the match-winner only recently in Atlético's 1-0 win over Deportivo, a reminder of why the club fought so hard to keep him. That quality is precisely why the saga stung: this was not a fringe player agitating for minutes, but the centrepiece of Diego Simeone's attack.
Fans, apologies and a truce that is not yet trust
The supporters made their own feelings plain. Álvarez apologised to Atlético fans in October, and while the intense whistling reserved for him at the Metropolitano at the start of the season has subsided, reports note there is still audible hostility from parts of the home crowd. An apology can lower the volume; it cannot rewind the tape.
Baena was careful to leave the door open. The squad, he said, would have supported Álvarez regardless of what he decided, and his message now was one of reconciliation: "He is with us now, and we need to show him all the affection in the world." There is support from the top, too — Simeone told a press conference on Sunday that Atlético would wait for Álvarez, backing his forward to come through a difficult period rather than feeding the story.
That combination matters. A manager willing to wait, a teammate willing to say publicly that the squad will rally round, and a player who has already apologised once — the raw materials of a repair job are all present. What is missing is time and goals, the two currencies that actually settle arguments of this kind at the Metropolitano.
So what does it mean for Atlético's season?
Atlético's title challenge cannot afford a divided dressing room. Simeone's teams are built on collective buy-in — the whole system depends on every player pressing, suffering and celebrating as one. A star forward whose commitment has been publicly questioned is a crack in that foundation, and rivals will probe it every time Álvarez has a quiet game or is substituted early.
There is also a longer shadow. The Barcelona interest has not disappeared; it has only been postponed. Every window from now on will reopen the question until Álvarez either signs fresh terms, produces a season so good the story dies, or finally gets his move. Atlético's refusal to sell last summer was a statement of power — but statements of power have to be renewed, and Baena's honesty shows the human cost of the last one is still being counted inside the squad.
Beyond the Final Whistle verdict: Baena has done Álvarez a favour, even if it does not feel like one today — by saying plainly that the squad was annoyed, he has also said plainly that they have chosen to move on with him. Dressing rooms forgive talent that apologises and then delivers. The whistles will fade with goals; what Álvarez cannot afford is another summer of speeches. Can he fully win back the Metropolitano this season — or is this relationship now on a countdown to the next transfer window? Tell us what you think in the comments.
