Atlético Madrid Stands Firm on Julián: No to €100m, €150m, or €200m Offers
Atlético Madrid has picked its side in the Julián saga, and it is refusing to budge.
Club figures have delivered an unflinching message to Barcelona and to the market: Julián is not for sale, at any price they consider reasonable or even outrageous.
“Atlético, like all great clubs, is built with great players, and I’m certain that Julián is one, as well as a great professional. We must compete based on our values, with homegrown talent and with the best players from outside that we can bring in,” he told EFE, laying out the club’s stance and identity in the same breath.
The position around the striker is not being left to interpretation. Inside the club, they insist the message has been consistent and repeated to everyone who needs to hear it.
“My opinion is clear, the club’s will is clear, we have made this clear to the player and his agent, and to the Barça president. I have no doubt that Atlético is the right place in the world for Julián, and Julián is the perfect striker for Atlético Madrid. We want to keep him.”
Barcelona’s interest and the noise around it have only hardened that line. When Joan Laporta suggested that Barça’s offer would not remain on the table indefinitely, Atlético fired back with a response designed to close the door, not open negotiations.
“I simply heard some statements from the president (Laporta), saying that his offer wasn’t open-ended. And our response is that our answer is indeed open-ended; we don’t want to transfer him. We didn’t accept the €100 million offer, nor will we accept one of €150 million or €200 million.”
The message is not just financial. Atlético is tying Julián’s future to its sporting project and its place among Europe’s elite. They see him as central to that plan, and they are prepared to shield him.
“We are going to help Julián and continue to take care of him so that he can give us his full potential, because we need him to keep competing among the best in Europe. We must understand that Julián hasn’t had the best advisors around him regarding his professional career in recent months,” he added, hinting at frustration with the player’s entourage rather than the player himself.
The tension does not stop with boardroom exchanges. Atlético also feels targeted by outside pressure, both from rival clubs and from media they believe are aligned with those interests.
“That other clubs and their affiliated media tell us what to do, dictate our sporting strategy, and disrespect us. That’s precisely what they want: to divide us. It’s clear we’re not as powerful as them, but we have values. We Atlético fans won’t allow them to corrupt us. Atleti is strong when we’re all together.”
The battle for Julián, then, is not just about a striker. It has become a test of how far Atlético is willing to go to defend its project, its values, and its place in a football world dominated by richer, louder rivals.
