Julian Alvarez returned to the pitch for Atletico Madrid against Mallorca on Sunday after recovering from knee issues that had forced him off at halftime against Villarreal and kept him out at Anfield versus Liverpool, but the match didn’t go as he might have hoped.
The 25-year-old has quickly established himself as Atletico Madrid‘s star despite joining from Manchester City last season, contributing both offensively and defensively. Substituted in the 61st minute as reported by Softfootball, but the Argentine striker looked visibly frustrated as he went to the bench.
His frustration was understandable since he had the clearest chance of the match from the penalty spot but was denied by Leo Roman’s gloves in the 14th minute, leaving the first half scoreless.
In the 62nd minute, Simeone made a triple substitution, replacing Alvarez with Alexander Sorloth. Ten minutes later, Sorloth was sent off with a red card. The goals came later from Connor Gallagher in the 79th minute for Atletico and Vedat Muriqi in the 85th for Mallorca, with the match ultimately ending 1-1.
According to a post on Fabrizio Romano Facebook page, after being substituted in the 61st minute, the Argentine striker looked visibly frustrated. Cameras captured Alvarez muttering “Siempre a mi” (“Always me”) as he took his seat on the bench, hinting at his irritation at being subbed off after playing just one of Atletico’s five matches this season. The post reads:
Julian Alvarez after being subbed off: “ALWAYS ME.
This is the fourth time in five matchdays that Julián hasn’t finished a LaLiga match with Atlético. This situation is starting to create tension in the red-and-white locker room.
Alvarez led Atletico in goal contributions last season, finishing as the top scorer with 28 goals and adding eight assists, while also leading the team in pressing and defensive work rate. Yet, his contributions seem insufficient to fully satisfy Simeone, who has made him a frequent substitute.
Out of 57 games played during the 2024-25 season, Alvarez completed 90 minutes in only 21 matches, less than half. This trend has worsened in the current campaign. So far, Atletico have played six games, Alvarez missed only the UCL game against Liverpool due to injury, but in the other five La Liga matches, he has played the full 90 minutes just once against Elche a relatively low number for a star with his physical gifts and potential to be one of the best in his position.
The 2025-26 season has not started as expected for Atletico Madrid, despite being one of the Spanish clubs that spent the most during the summer transfer window. With just one win, three draws, and two losses across all competitions, Simeone is still reshaping his squad, and Alvarez appears to be one of the most affected players by the coach’s rotations and lack of consistency.
