The saga involving Barca, Alvarez, and Atletico Madrid has left the waters between the Metropolitano and Camp Nou so stirred up that the resulting tsunami could be massive.
First, there was the supposed €100 million offer for the Argentine striker, something denied by the Colchonero club, whose response was full of humour.
Posting on social media with the 'Here We Go' phrase from transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, they offered concert tickets, sunflower seeds, and a subscription to the ABC newspaper to sign Lamine Yamal - a clear jab at Florentino Perez. Then came another supposed offer for Pedri and the 'announcement' of Raphinha’s loan to Atleti in exchange for loaning Tom Ford and Smith with no purchase option.
They even followed up with one last joke, denying they had made an offer to Barca director Deco to join their scouting team.
But that sense of humour vanished completely just minutes later, as they went on the attack in a clear and forceful way, accusing Barca of destabilising, leaking information, showing disrespect, and bringing up the Negreira case - which is still ongoing and for which Barcelona are under investigation for having paid millions of euros over the years to the former vice president of the refereeing committee while he held that position.
"No, Atletico de Madrid would never do something like that. However, over the past few months, we have been subjected to a relentless smear campaign against one of our players," a post on social media read.
"Calculated leaks, fake news, constant disrespect, the cule version of the propaganda machine inventing little stories, phone calls before head-to-head clashes… But of course, it would never occur to us either to have the vice president of the referees on the payroll or to rely on political favours to register players. RESPECT and VALUES."