The dream has curdled into a nightmare in the Spanish capital. The Wanda Metropolitano no longer chants Julian Alvarez's name. It spits it out with deafening jeers, a scene that captures the complete rupture between the Argentine star and his club, Atletico Madrid.
The crisis traces back to the end of last June, when "the Spider" stunned the media with an open declaration of his desire to leave this summer and fulfil his dream. "The transfer is the best thing for everyone," he said. "I want to fulfil my dream." He never named a destination, but everyone read the message the same way: Barcelona is the dream.
Barcelona have piled huge pressure on Atletico's management to land their star ever since. President Enrique Cerezo answered decisively, keeping his silence and reaching for his only weapon: the release clause. The management's message was blunt. "The player is not for sale."
Alvarez now finds himself a captive among the Rojiblancos. The club will not budge, and according to sources close to the situation, would rather sell him to any other club such as Arsenal than let him fulfil his dream in a Barcelona shirt.
Here lies the irony. Atletico had already rejected a huge offer from eternal rivals Real Madrid worth 150 million euros after Florentino Perez won the elections, a decision the management may regret today as the relationship with the player crumbles.
The point of no return at the Metropolitano
Everything exploded on Alvarez's return to the team's stadium. The fans met him with sharp jeers and demanded he leave for Barcelona, a scene picked apart at length by the "Carrusel Deportivo" programme on "Cadena SER" radio.
Jesus Gallego was sarcastic as he analysed the scene, arguing the ideal solution is for the player to leave in this window before it is too late. Analyst Marcos Lopez agreed. "The problem is that their star wants to leave Atletico and the club refuses. What happened at the Metropolitano is very serious, the fans made it abundantly clear that they do not want to see him there."
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Dark scenarios after 1 September
Nothing changing before the market closes on 1 September leaves Atletico at a dead end, staring at two bitter choices. They force the player to accept reality and stay, perhaps parking him on the bench for an entire season "until he wakes up from his stupor" and retracts his statements. Or they hand him the chance to prove himself, score goals and win back the fans' trust.
Some analysts reckon this approach harms the club more than the player. It plants doubt in the mind of any star weighing up a future move, wary that the Alvarez scenario could be repeated with them.
Others, such as Miguel Martin Talavera, believe it will have no impact, pointing to the deal for Cuti Romero, who signed for Atletico a very happy man despite everything unfolding around him.
Between the fans' jeers, the Barcelona dream and Enrique Cerezo's refusal, the final solution hangs in the air. It may yet arrive as a long-awaited phone call. In the end, as everyone whispers in the offices of Madrid, Florentino will have to call again.