Atletico Madrid mock Real Madrid with laughing emojis after £129m Julian Alvarez bid rejected

Atletico Madrid turned Real Madrid’s £129m bid for Julian Alvarez into a public humiliation on Tuesday, rejecting the offer outright and firing back with a statement laced with mockery — all while Arsenal continue to be linked with the Argentine striker.

Real confirmed they had submitted an offer of €150 million (£129m) for Alvarez’s federative rights, framing it within the context of “good relations” between the two Madrid clubs. Atletico’s response was swift and withering. Within minutes of Real’s statement going live, Atleti retweeted it on X accompanied by five laughing face emojis, before releasing a formal reply of their own.

“You must have confused education with gratitude, but to leave no doubt: we don’t thank you for anything,” Atletico wrote. “We neither study nor consider any offer for Julian. How could we not get along, when you make us laugh even more than Barcelona does.”

The club added a postscript taking aim at Real over their recruitment from Atletico’s academy: “Taking advantage of the good relationship with your new president, let’s see if you stop ‘stealing’ players from our Academy.”

Alvarez, 26, joined Atletico from Manchester City for £82m two years ago and has since scored 49 goals in 106 appearances. He signed a six-year contract that includes a release clause set at £431m — the figure Atletico pointedly directed Real Madrid toward in their rejection.

The bid came after Real president Florentino Perez publicly pledged a new ‘galactico’ signing this summer, but Atletico had consistently maintained that Alvarez was not for sale at any price below his release clause.

Arsenal, managed by Mikel Arteta, are among the clubs understood to retain an interest in the forward, along with Barcelona. Should Arsenal succeed where Real have failed and trigger a deal, the fee involved would surpass every transfer in Premier League history.