2022 World Cup winner Angel Di Maria delivers bold criticism on Julian Álvarez’s Atletico Madrid: ‘They sideline their players’

Despite shining with Argentina in the 2022 World Cup, Ángel Di María decided to announce his retirement from the national team in 2024, continuing his career with Rosario Central. Nevertheless, he has remained very attentive to the development of his former teammates ahead of the 2026 edition. In this context, he issued strong criticism toward Atlético Madrid’s handling of their stars such as Julián Álvarez, exposing a major weakness.

“Atlético de Madrid are strange. From one moment to the next, they sideline their players and then they start to sort of disappear; it happens to most of the guys who were there. Very few manage to keep a run as starters, who never come out of the lineup… The beautiful thing about the national team is that when they put on the sky blue and white shirt, they become different players — they transform and play incredibly,” Angel Di Maria said, via Radio La Red.

Even though Diego Simeone is the legendary head coach of Los Colchoneros, very few Argentine players have managed to shine consistently at the club. In fact, they have had a series of players who failed to make a real impact: Luciano Vietto, Nicolás Gaitán, Eduardo Salvio, Cristian Ansaldi, Matías Kranevitter, among others. Along with them, the coach has still not managed to get the best version out of Nahuel Molina and Julián Álvarez.

Both Molina and Álvarez are heavily criticized players at Atlético Madrid. Although they usually shine with Argentina as regular starters, both are experiencing a rather irregular spell at the club, losing their status as undisputed starters to Marcos Llorente and Alexander Sørloth. As a result, criticism toward Simeone continues to grow, as only a few players truly seem to reach their full potential under him.

Julián Álvarez’s future could be far from Atletico Madrid

Julián Álvarez established himself as one of the best strikers in the world, shining at Manchester City. However, Erling Haaland’s undisputed starting role forced his departure from the club, leading to his €75 million move to Atlético Madrid. Although he was expected to consolidate himself as a cornerstone of the team, the Argentine is going through a rather difficult period and could look for a way out.

While Julian managed to shine by scoring 29 goals in his first season, he is not at his best. With his overall performance declining, coach Simeone has opted for Alexander Sørloth, causing him to lose his status as an undisputed starter. Given this situation, Barcelona are reportedly interested in him, as he may be motivated to leave. However, his departure would not be easy, as Diario Sport claims that he would be valued at around €150 million.