Atletico Madrid have rejected a €150m (£130m) bid from city rivals Real Madrid for striker Julian Alvarez before taking to social media to mock the offer.
Real president Florentino Perez made the ambitious move after promising fans last week that he would sign an unnamed “galactico” if he won Sunday’s presidential election.
Having successfully retained his position, Perez made good on his word, targeting the 26-year-old Argentina international.
However, Atletico swiftly dismissed the approach, pointing to the forward’s astronomical €500m (£430m) release clause.
Real Madrid released a formal statement explaining that they had made the €150m offer “within the framework of the good relations between both clubs”, adding that Atletico had “expressed its gratitude for the proposal” before rejecting it.
But Atletico quickly disputed Real’s polite version of events, sharing the statement on social media platform X alongside a string of laughing emojis.
In a follow-up post, Atletico wrote: “You must have confused education with gratitude, but to leave no doubt: we don’t thank you for anything. We neither study nor consider any offer for Julian.”
They added: “How could we not get along, when you make us laugh even more than Barcelona does.”
Atletico finished their social media broadside by urging Real’s newly re-elected president to “stop ‘stealing’ players from our academy.”
Alvarez, a 2022 World Cup winner with Argentina and former Manchester City forward, moved to Atletico in 2024 in a deal worth up to £81.5m. He enjoyed a strong campaign last season, scoring 20 goals in 49 appearances as Atletico finished fourth in La Liga and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League.
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