Simeone defends Alvarez from Atletico Madrid supporter backlash

Diego Simeone is publicly backing Julian Alvarez after Atletico Madrid fans booed and whistled at him during their game vs. Villarreal.

Arsenal and Barcelona are monitoring the situation around the Argentinian forward closely, as they view the 26-year-old goal scorer as a primary target to reinforce their attack before the end of the summer transfer window.

Julian has made himself persona non grata with the Atletico Madrid supporters after sharing a few months ago that his dream destination is Barcelona. During yesterday’s tense game with the Yellow Submarine, which saw the Madrid club scoring a dramatic late equalizer, Alvarez was heavily targeted by the Atletico fans.

The Argentinian was loudly abused while warming up, jeered when his name was announced among the substitutes, and met with a deafening chorus of whistles when he entered the pitch in the 2^nd half. After the end of the game, the Argentinian walked straight down the tunnel alone while his teammates remained to clap to the fans at Metropolitano.

Simeone, however, defended Julian as he revealed that the directors of the club chose Alvarez not to remain on the pitch and greet the fans, not the forward himself.

🚨 Everyone wants to see Julián Álvarez at Barcelona… except Atlético president Gil Marín. 🤯

More on this topic:

Alvarez returns to Atletico Madrid amid transfer saga

✅ The fans.
✅ Diego Simeone, who has asked for attacking reinforcements but needs to sell.
✅ Barcelona.
✅ Julián Álvarez himself.

Everyone except one man. 👀

(Source:… pic.twitter.com/3DyJR8f1ow

— Transfer News Live (@DeadlineDayLive) August 24, 2026