Atletico Madrid made it two wins from two to start the 2026-27 La Liga season with a controlled 2-0 victory over Malaga on Wednesday, and every clean sheet that arrives without Julian Alvarez on the pitch tightens the club’s grip on the negotiation around him.

Simeone left the Argentina forward out of the matchday squad because he was still working back to full match fitness after Argentina’s run at the 2026 World Cup, the club said, with Matchday 3 pencilled in as his likely return. What might have looked like leverage was, on the face of it, a fitness call.

Whatever the reason, Barcelona were watching a team that did not need him, for the second matchday in a row.

Lee Kang-in curls in his debut goal

Malaga held out for 70 minutes before Lee Kang-in cut in from the right on his league debut and curled a left-footed finish inside the far post. Five minutes from time Alex Baena clipped a free kick over the wall and into the top corner.

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Simeone was measured about his new attacker afterwards.

“He’s a player who has to adapt to the demands of the game. He’s a committed player to his team,” the coach told reporters, per ESPN’s post-match report.

The performance was familiar Simeone: Atletico dominated possession and shots, and Jan Oblak was barely worked in the Atletico goal.

The €100m Barcelona will not stop chasing

Wednesday’s most consequential detail sat off the pitch. Barcelona have made Alvarez their priority summer target, and sporting director Deco met the player’s agent in Madrid to design what Barca Blaugranes describes as a “final attempt”, one built on raising the club’s initial €100m offer.

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Atletico have not moved. CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín told Al Jazeera earlier this month that the club had rejected Barcelona’s €100m and would refuse €150m and €200m too. The same report noted that Atletico lodged a FIFA complaint last month alleging Barcelona engaged in illegal tapping-up.

Simeone made the sporting case on 8 August.

“From a sporting perspective, we’re very happy to have a footballer like Julian,” he said. “We will help him continue to grow, continue to improve and continue delivering.”

The saga is not about the price

That is the part Barcelona cannot outbid. As Football España wrote on 16 August, the standoff “hinges less on figures and fees than on whether Álvarez himself is prepared to force the issue publicly”. Atletico have declared the player not for sale under any circumstances, and unless Alvarez escalates, there is nothing for Barcelona to leverage.

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Every Atletico point collected without him drains the urgency from any deal. The European transfer window closes in early September. Simeone has matchdays still to come and no obvious reason to compromise.

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