Barcelona chief takes aim at Atletico over Alvarez as Arsenal watch on

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The Julian Alvarez saga refuses to die down, and the latest salvo has come from Barcelona president Joan Laporta, who has publicly criticised Atletico Madrid for their conduct during a summer transfer window in which Arsenal were also credited with interest in the Argentine forward.

Alvarez made it known he wanted to leave Atletico over the summer, with Barcelona and the Gunners emerging as the two clubs most strongly linked. Atletico ultimately refused to sanction a sale, and the 26-year-old remains in the Spanish capital.

Arsenal's interest came at a moment of significant upheaval in the forward department, with Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus and Leandro Trossard all departing the club during the window.

Laporta hits out at Atletico

Speaking after the window shut, Laporta made clear he felt Atletico's handling of the situation crossed a line, as reported by football.london.

"They acted offended; they had no way to justify their attitude," the Barcelona president said. "We did what's usually done: there was club-to-club communication, and then I spoke personally with Gil Marin. He told me he wasn't coming because they had no alternative."

He continued: "Then they reacted inappropriately. I don't know why, I can imagine, but I have no proof. We were hearing that they would sell him to every club except Barca. Then they dropped the pretense and said it openly."

Laporta added that the matter is closed as far as Barcelona are concerned: "That is now in the past and we are very happy with the squad we have and the coach is very happy with the extraordinary work of Deco."

Alvarez faces a rebuild at Atletico

The fallout has left Alvarez in an awkward position. He has featured just once in La Liga since the window closed, having missed the previous two fixtures through injury.

Former Atletico defender Diego Godin was blunt in his assessment of how the forward handled the situation. "Julian Alvarez is a fantastic player. He must be a great guy, but I think he made a mistake... The fans' anger is completely understandable. We all get that someone might want to leave, but it's about how you leave, the way you go about it."

Godin added: "I don't know if Julian Alvarez will be able to repair the relationship. It cost Antoine [Griezmann] an enormous amount of effort, and with Julian, we'll see... Time will tell, but what's certain is that people will expect him, at the very least, to give everything on the pitch whenever he gets his chance."

For Arsenal, the episode underlined how difficult it was to prise Alvarez away, with his own preference reportedly being a move to Catalonia rather than north London. Atletico return to action against Real Madrid in the derby, and how Alvarez's relationship with the club's support develops from here will shape whether this story resurfaces in future windows.