Following reports that Barcelona submitted a €100 million bid to sign Argentine striker Julián Álvarez—coupled with heavy media speculation that Álvarez wants out of Madrid—Atlético’s social media team didn’t just deny the rumors.
They went on an absolute, unprecedented rampage on X (formerly Twitter) to publicly mock Barça’s financial situation.
Here is how the wildest transfer market trolling of the year unfolded.
The Warning Shot
Before unleashing chaos, Atlético’s official account subtly warned their followers that they were about to address the rampant transfer rumors. They posted a brief, ominous message alerting fans that a statement was coming regarding “disinformation” in the media.
Offer 1: Sunflower Seeds for Yamal
Minutes later, instead of a boring corporate press release, Atleti dropped an AI-generated image of Barcelona’s crown jewel, Lamine Yamal, photoshopped into an Atlético Madrid jersey. Parodying transfer guru Fabrizio Romano’s iconic catchphrase, they publicly mocked Barça’s famous financial constraints by offering a ridiculous trade package.
Translation: “HERE WE GO! We have sent a fax to @FCBarcelona_es with our transfer offer: 4 tickets for tomorrow’s Bad Bunny concert, an annual subscription to ABC, and a bag of sunflower seeds. We eagerly await the response to prepare the ‘announcement’.”
Offer 2: Upgrading the Bid for Pedri
Less than fifteen minutes later, Atlético’s admin doubled down. Uploading another photoshopped graphic—this time featuring Barça midfielder Pedri in Atleti colors—they claimed their original offer had already hit a logistical snag and needed an upgrade.
Translation: “HERE WE GO! For this second offer we’ve had a problem, we’ve run out of tickets for tomorrow’s concert, so we improve the previous proposal with 6 for Sunday’s.”
Offer 3: The Raphinha 3-for-1 Deal
For their third mock bid, Atlético targeted Brazilian winger Raphinha. Moving away from the concert tickets, the admin leaned into complete absurdity by offering a bizarre player-for-personnel loan exchange.
Translation: “HERE WE GO! And to complete the 3-for-1 deal, we went all out and are throwing the house out the window: the player arrives on loan for one season and in exchange we loan Tom Ford and Smith with no option to buy. An irresistible offer.”
The Burn: “Don’t Believe Everything You See”
To wrap up the digital onslaught, Atlético’s English account dropped the joke and published a direct message explaining the stunt. They used the fake posts to blast the “culé media machinery” for harassment regarding Julián Álvarez, before dropping a massive, highly controversial dig at Barcelona’s historical legal troubles (the Negreira case) and financial maneuvers.
In the broader Spanish statement, the club added: “It would never occur to us to have the vice president of the referees on our payroll or to use political favors to register players. RESPECT and VALUES.”
While Barcelona fans have flooded the replies calling the stunt “unprofessional” and “rattled,” Atlético Madrid made it clear that if anyone wants to talk about buying Julián Álvarez, they better bring real money—not rumors.
