MADRID (AP) 鈥� Argentina forward Juli谩n 脕lvarez was left out of Atletico Madrid’s squad for the La Liga opener against Malaga on Wednesday.
脕lvarez told Atletico in the offseason that he wants to be transferred but the club said it does not intend to negotiate a release.
Coach Diego Simeone said on Tuesday that 26-year-old 脕lvarez was not in the squad for the match against Malaga at Estadio Metropolitano because he was not yet physically ready.
Simeone said he’s still counting on 脕lvarez for the season. He called the him the team’s best player and expects him to be available to play in Sunday’s league game against Villarreal.
Also not included in the squad was newly signed Argentina defender Cristian 鈥淐uti鈥� Romero and injured striker Alexander Sorloth.
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