Steve McManaman believes Arsenal had virtually no chance of signing Julian Alvarez last summer. According to the former Liverpool player, the Argentine forward was intent on moving to Barcelona.
Arsenal showed interest in Alvarez, but the player himself had publicly expressed his desire to join the Catalan side. Ultimately, Atletico refused to let him go to one of their main rivals.
Speaking on TNT Sports, McManaman stated:
So much talk, yet it's all nonsense! He never intended to join Arsenal. Why on earth would he choose to go to Arsenal? He wanted to go to Barcelona, and he said that himself, but Atletico weren’t about to strengthen a competitor.
Atletico paid Manchester City £82 million for him, and he's still got four years left on his contract. Let’s be honest: it’s rather bold to state that you want to move to Barcelona when they, alongside Real Madrid, are your primary challengers.
So for Atletico, it was absolutely vital to be firm and deny that request. Now Alvarez must prove to the fans and his teammates that he’s fully focused on Atletico.
Alvarez remained with the Madrid club and failed to make an impact in the opening match of the Champions League against Liverpool, which Atletico lost 2-1.
