Alvarez Booed by Own Fans and Returns to Dressing Room Without Salute; Simeone Defends Him After Match

On August 24 Beijing time, Atletico Madrid drew 2-2 with Villarreal. During the match, Alvarez came on as a substitute in the 66th minute, which triggered widespread boos from fans. After the match, he did not interact with the supporters for a post-match salute and went directly back to the dressing room, causing extensive discussion.

Throughout the summer, Alvarez had been determined to leave and join Barcelona, but Barcelona's offers never reached Atletico Madrid's expectations after Real Madrid's high-value offer had previously affected the situation. Atletico even hoped to sell the Spider to Arsenal rather than let him move to Barcelona. In the end, Atletico's management insisted on keeping him, which led to the strong reaction from fans.

After the match, Atletico manager Diego Simeone discussed the matter at the press conference. Asked why Alvarez returned to the dressing room alone, Simeone explained: "The club staff told me that it was the club's decision not to let him go out for the salute with his teammates. It was the club's decision, allowing him to leave alone and go directly back to the dressing room."

Asked for his view on the incident, Simeone said: "I am not here to give advice. I have to focus on my work, which is to provide the best I can on the sporting side. If we want to win titles, we need to stay united, and we need a striker, an important striker."

"I will not answer questions about Alvarez. I understand everyone's focus, but we can talk about what happened in the match."

Asked what he wanted to say to the fans, Simeone said: "I think I have already made it clear. We need to stay united, and we need a striker. Since we have Alvarez, we must protect him."

Asked about the team's lack of a striker, Simeone replied: "I want to apologize to Lookman. I know that is not the position he is best suited for, but he has to help us because Sorloth is injured, while Alvarez is working to get back to his best condition. Lookman is a good guy, reliable, hardworking and very dedicated, but playing this position takes away some of the things he enjoys, such as dribbling, scoring goals and one-on-one breakthroughs. When our players who lead the attack return, we will give those things back to him."