Argentina forward Julian Alvarez has said he wants to leave Atletico Madrid to "fulfil his dream", which is understood to be a move to Barcelona.
Arsenal are one of the clubs interested in the striker, but Your Site News understands his preference is to join Barcelona, who have been pursuing the player all summer.
Relations between the Spanish clubs do not appear to be in a good place after Atletico mocked Barcelona over their attempts to sign Alvarez last month.
Atletico do not want to sell Alvarez and have been digging their heels in over the future of their star man, but the 26-year-old made his intentions clear after Argentina's 2-0 World Cup win over Austria on Monday.
"I spoke with people at the club, with those I had to speak with and the best thing for everyone is a transfer and I want to fulfil my dream," Alvarez said
"It's not the time to talk about this, but I also can't hide it. I try to be an honest person."
Real Madrid said earlier this month that they had seen a £129m bid for Alvarez rejected by Atletico, but their pursuit has not continued, and questions have since been asked about the motivations behind the statement.
Atletico took the opportunity to point to Alvarez's £431m (€500m) release clause when responding to their city rivals.
Alvarez, who is under contract until 2030 following his £81m move to Atletico from Manchester City in 2024, said his future remains undecided.
"It's not known when it will be resolved," he added.
Your Site News has contacted Atletico Madrid for comment.
April 28: Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone says Arsenal, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain are interested in Alvarez. He had been asked about Arsenal's interest at a press conference ahead of Atletico's Champions League semi-final first leg against the Gunners.
April 28: Your Site News reported that Alvarez's preference is a move to Barcelona, but that Atletico do not want to sell him.
May 29: Reports in Spain claim Barcelona are set to sign Alvarez next as Anthony Gordon arrives in Catalonia to complete his £69m move from Barcelona.
May 29: Atletico accused Barcelona of a "smear campaign" and spreading "fake news" in their pursuit of Alvarez.
In a string of posts on social media, Atletico also mocked up parody images of Barca's star players in their kit. One image of Raphinha was accompanied by the words: "Don't believe everything you see, especially if it's related to Barca."
Atletico sarcastically posted information about bids for Barca's star players, including one for Lamine Yamal made up of Bad Bunny concert tickets, an annual streaming subscription and bag of sunflower seeds. Barcelona declined to comment on Atletico's statements.
June 9: Real Madrid release a statement saying they have had a £129m bid for Alvarez rejected by Atletico in which they highlighted the "good relations between both clubs" and the player's £429m release clause. By doing this, Real Madrid set a minimum price for the player.
June 9: Atletico responded by saying they did not "study nor consider any offer" for Alvarez and joked that Real Madrid "make us laugh even more than Barcelona does".
June 22: Alvarez says he wants to leave Atletico Madrid and "fulfil his dream", which is understood to be a move to Barcelona, after Argentina's 2-0 win over Austria at the World Cup.
