Spanish media personality Jota Jordi has dropped a fresh bombshell over the future of Argentina's Julian Alvarez. According to his information, Atletico Madrid have given the player written approval to move to Barcelona, with tension mounting as the final hours of the transfer window approach.
Speaking on "El Chiringuito", in a heated debate with Maria Tikas and Damian Gonzalez, Jota Jordi claimed Atletico have not only allowed Alvarez to speak publicly about his future, but also handed him, by his account, written approval to negotiate a move to Barcelona.
He promised that on 2 September he will reveal evidence and documents to back up his story. One of the conditions Atletico set before Alvarez, he explained, was to allow him to speak, while giving the club's green light for his departure to Barcelona.
The picture inside Atletico, according to Jota Jordi, is very different from what the club puts out in public. The words of Diego Simeone and club officials about wanting the Argentine striker to stay do not reflect what is happening behind closed doors.
Money is at the heart of it. Atletico want to sell Alvarez for economic reasons, and the club also fear the fallout of keeping a player who is not convinced about staying. Management spoke with the player and those around him about the possibility of leaving, particularly to Arsenal.
Alvarez, according to the same source, is holding firm. He refuses to move to any other club, wanting Barcelona as his only destination in the event of a departure. That keeps the deal hanging until the final hours of the window.
Barcelona, Jota Jordi stressed, remain strongly in the frame. The Catalan club are ready to move quickly if Atletico open the door, and the remaining hours could bring a surprise twist in one of the most controversial deals of the summer.
Atletico, meanwhile, press on with reorganising their squad before the window shuts. They are searching for attacking solutions and weighing up the possible departure of Alexander Sorloth, while Alvarez's future remains the hottest file at the club.
Jota Jordi signed off by insisting he had personally seen, in his words, documents and messages relating to the deal, and pledged to reveal them to prove his account. All eyes now turn to the final hours of the window. Alvarez waits to see whether the "green light" really exists, and whether it will finally take him to Barcelona.