Mansion Sports – Julian Alvarez was completely left out of the Atletico Madrid squad for their La Liga opener against Malaga on Wednesday.

The high-profile player's absence came amid intense speculation linking the Argentine with a move to Barcelona, although Diego Simeone insisted that the forward simply needed more time to train after recently completing international duty with Argentina.

Alvarez Absent from Opening Victory

Alvarez was notably absent as Atletico Madrid began their La Liga campaign with a 2-0 victory over Malaga on Wednesday.

While the Argentine watched from afar, Ademola Lookman led the attack as the lone forward and played the entire match. Second-half goals from Kang-in Lee and Alex Baena secured the victory.

However, Alvarez has become the subject of major transfer speculation, with Barcelona and Arsenal attempting to secure his signature.

Although he wants to leave, Atletico Madrid have remained firm in their stance, pointing to a €490 million release clause. The club have essentially closed the door on negotiations.

Simeone Explains Alvarez's Absence

According to Mirror, head coach Diego Simeone directly addressed the situation, stating that Alvarez's absence was solely due to his fitness level following the World Cup final, rather than an imminent transfer.

Interestingly, Baena was included in the squad and even scored, despite having had almost the same amount of time away on international duty.

Simeone explained his decision by saying: "I deal with the sporting side. [Julian] is a wonderful boy. We talk, as we always do... We need more training sessions with him."

"He is the best player we have in attack, I have already said that and I still think so. I want to build a team around him."

Player Discontent Begins to Show

Although Simeone has insisted that Alvarez remains a central part of his plans at Riyadh Air Metropolitano, the player appears to be highly dissatisfied with the current situation.

Reports indicate that Simeone and Alvarez have held a face-to-face discussion, during which the forward once again reaffirmed his desire to move to Barcelona.

Furthermore, it has been reported that Alvarez showed his frustration during a recent training session.

In official photographs published on Wednesday, Alvarez appeared without a beard and looked visibly unhappy, a stark contrast to the cheerful demeanor he had typically displayed during the previous two seasons.

Simeone acknowledged the outside noise, adding: "People will have their opinions. I respect other people's opinions greatly, I always have in situations like this, such as Diego Costa, [Antoine] Griezmann and now Julián."

What Happens Next?

Alvarez will continue training with Atletico Madrid while attempting to improve his fitness ahead of their next match, when they host Villarreal on August 23.

With the transfer window continuing to run and the club demanding an unrealistic €490 million fee, Alvarez may have to accept that his immediate future remains in Madrid.

Barcelona will need to quickly search for an alternative attacking target if they are unable to finance a historic offer.