Julián Alvarez walks alone at Atlético in transfer saga with no end – and no winners | Sid Lowe

At the end of their first home game of the season, a 2-2 draw with Villarreal, all of Atlético Madrid’s players gathered by the centre circle, shook hands with their opponents and each other, then headed towards the south end of the Metropolitano. Almost all of them did, anyway: one was left behind. Somebody in a suit had a quiet word then the press officer came, pointing in the other direction.

So, while his teammates turned to the supporters who had turned on him, the man wearing No 19 went west, to the exit. Head down in silence, as he had been all afternoon and beyond, he set off slowly across the pitch accompanied only by his thoughts and the whistles that followed him. Not offered a hand to shake or a nod of acknowledgment, he stepped past the Atlético badge on the touchline where the mouth of the tunnel opens.

Either side, supporters hung over the void, whistling and shouting. Way off to his left, Atlético’s other players paused, seemingly waiting for him to slip out of sight before approaching the stand, but none turned back. A scarf was thrown, landing at Alvarez’s feet and left lying there.

And then he disappeared into the dark, a portrait of the place he is in. No one was waiting for him on the other side. Alvarez went up the stairs, past a couple of security guards and turned left to an empty dressing room, not lifting his gaze and not invited to either.

Four minutes would pass before his teammates came up the stairs together. But at least it was quiet now, for a little while. The noise had been loud; no one could recall supporters turning on their own player quite like this.

Atlético’s fans, still his fans, had whistled him when his name was read out, whistled him when he had warmed up, whistled him when he came on wearing red and white there for the first time since April and since he declared it his “dream” to leave, and they had whistled him out of there too, for good. The situation, in short, is this: Julián Alvarez wants to leave for Barcelona. Barcelona want to sign him.