MADRID (AP) — Atletico Madrid's stance on Julián Álvarez is now official: The Argentina star will not be sold to Barcelona.
The back-and-forth between the clubs over Álvarez has made it the transfer saga of the summer in European soccer.
But Atletico released a statement Thursday, saying its board of directors “have unanimously expressed their absolute support for the club’s decision to not negotiate the transfer of Julián Alvarez to Barcelona.”
“Atletico Madrid is open to standard transfer market negotiations when conducted in a professional, ethical and respectful manner," the statement read. "We fully stand behind the club’s previously communicated position that Barcelona failed to meet these requirements and, as a result, there will not be any negotiation and there is zero consideration of an Alvarez transfer to Barcelona.”
Atletico CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín later told Movistar that people were “deceiving and confusing” the player.
“He’s a great professional and player, and he’s very confused and going through a very difficult situation at a personal and professional level,” Gil Marín said.
The Atletico official harshly criticized Barcelona.
“We are disgusted by the falsehood, by the lack of ethics, of transparency, of professionalism,” he said. “We must insist that we are not going to negotiate with Barcelona under no circumstances.”
Premier League champion Arsenal is also reportedly interested in signing Álvarez, whose buyout clause is reportedly 500 million euros ($582 million).
Yet Atletico's statement intimated that he won't be going anywhere.
“Atletico Madrid trust that our player will understand the decision and will remain focused on helping the club achieve its goals,” it read, “just as he has done during the two seasons he has been defending our colors.”
Álvarez was left out of Atletico’s squad for the Spanish league opener and was booed by the team’s fans in its match Sunday, when he came on as a substitute.
The striker did not train with Atletico on Wednesday, the same day Barcelona president Joan Laporta said his club maintained its offer to sign the 26-year-old Álvarez and that “it appears that the player wants to come to Barça.”
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FILE - Argentina's Julian Alvarez, left, and Switzerland's Nico Elvedi (4) vie for the ball during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match in Kansas City, Mo., Saturday, July 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, file)
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) — Haiti’s National Police faced mounting criticism Thursday over why authorities failed to prevent a recent gang attack in which 47 people were killed and more than 50 kidnapped.
Police spokesperson Garry Desrosiers took only a handful of questions from journalists at a news conference Thursday, just days after gangs attacked Kenscoff, a once-peaceful farming community nestled in the hills near Port-au-Prince.
Asked what police are planning to do about those kidnapped, Desrosiers said he could not answer that question publicly.
“We cannot talk about any plans,” he said.
One gang leader has threatened to execute all the hostages if any gang members are killed as police work to secure Kenscoff.
Desrosiers expressed condolences to all those affected by the violent attack launched late Sunday.
More than 2,600 people were displaced, according to the U.N. International Organization for Migration, and anger and frustration are mounting. Desrosiers said police are working on helping them return home, but he did not provide specifics.
One journalist questioned whether there was any intelligence gathered prior to the attack, with Desrosiers responding that authorities have been working on gathering intelligence.
He added that police are aware that one gang leader is threatening to attack Tabarre, a neighborhood within Port-au-Prince where the U.S. embassy is located.
“I’m not in a position to give you detailed information,” Desrosiers said.
Vladimir Paraison, head of Haiti’s National Police, was not present at the news conference. He recently defended security measures in Kenscoff and said that an investigation was underway to establish the truth about the attack "whether due to complicity or negligence."
Between January and August this year, security operations had managed to reduce violence in Kenscoff by 66% prior to Sunday’s attack, according to the nonprofit Armed Conflict Location & Event Data.
The attack comes as Haiti prepares to hold its first general election in more than a decade, although experts warn that insecurity persists.
Armed men control an estimated 70% of Port-au-Prince and swaths of land in Haiti’s central region and beyond.
Gang violence has displaced a record of nearly 1.5 million people across Haiti, where more than 3,050 people were reported killed from January to June, according to U.N. statistics.
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Blood stains the ground left behind by the victim of a gang attack in the Kenscoff neighborhood of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Monday, Aug. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Odelyn Joseph)
