Atletico Madrid has aimed a mocking dig at La Liga rivals Barcelona over their pursuit of Julian Alvarez.
The club made light of the situation by proposing a humorous exchange involving Barcelona’s 18-year-old Spain star, Lamine Yamal.
Atletico’s Satirical Offer for Yamal
Atletico Madrid’s offer for Lamine Yamal included “4 tickets for tomorrow’s Bad Bunny concert, an annual subscription to ABC, and a bag of sunflower seeds.”
The club stated they eagerly awaited the response to prepare the ‘announce’.
These posts, made on social media, quickly went viral.
Social Media Barrage
Atletico Madrid’s social media activity included more ‘approaches’ for other players too.
These featured AI-generated images of the players in an Atleti shirt.
The flurry of posts came in just over an hour and went into more than 55 million X account feeds.
The popularity was driven by the surprise, as it is highly unusual for a club to make such satirical comments about a rival on a public forum.
Serious Allegations Follow the Jokes
Atletico finished their remarks with two further, more serious, points.
The club accused Barcelona of using political favours to register players.
Atletico stated they have been suffering a smear campaign against one of their players.
The club referred to alleged payments Barcelona made to Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, the former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee, an investigation into which is ongoing.
Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing.
Background to the Alvarez Pursuit
Barcelona have opened talks to sign Julian Alvarez, with an agreement in place for the 26-year-old, according to BBC Sport columnist Guillem Balague.
Atletico are likely to turn down the 90m euros (£77.9m) Barca are expected to offer.
Atletico accused Barcelona of using political favours to register players.
The club also alluded to leaked information with ulterior motives and constant disrespect.
Atletico Madrid’s social media posts highlighted the tension between the two clubs amid the transfer battle.