Atletico's Alvarez will return after 'learning experience' - Simeone

Julian Alvarez will return to Atletico Madrid’s squad for the La Liga game against Athletic Club after his failed attempt to leave acted as a “learning experience”, says manager Diego Simeone.

The 26-year-old striker missed two days of training last week, citing illness as the reason, after being told privately Atletico would not sell him to Barcelona.

A potential move to Arsenal looked like the Argentina forward’s only way out of the club, but nothing materialised and he has been reintegrated into team training after missing last weekend’s league game at Sevilla.

“Julian Alvarez will be in the squad tomorrow. He’s training well, and we expect the best from him, just as we do from all his team-mates,” Simeone said.

“For me, life is full of opportunities. And Julian now has an opportunity.

“A lot of the time, we spend our lives judging, and we need to worry about doing that less and learning more. I hope this has served as a learning experience for him.

“I hope he’s happy and, as [Paulo] Futre [Atletico Madrid’s director of football] told him yesterday in a lovely video… that he shows it by scoring goals.”

Atletico released two public statements in the space of 24 hours reiterating their stance that Alvarez would not be granted his wish to join rivals Barca.

Simeone’s side, however, were open to selling Alvarez to Arsenal and held direct talks with the Premier League champions.

Last week, Simeone said he would “do everything” he could to make the 2022 World Cup winner “feel important” on his return.

Alvarez has scored 49 goals in 107 games for Atletico since joining for £81m from Manchester City in 2024, but is yet to win any silverware in Madrid.

Atletico travel to Bilbao to face Athletic Club on Saturday (15:15 BST kick-off).

How 'unique' Bellingham is thriving in Mourinho's system

Jude Bellingham has started the new season looking like a player with something to prove.

The 23-year-old’s two goals and three assists have helped Real Madrid to an impressive start under new boss Jose Mourinho, with three wins from as many games.

Bellingham’s performances, and the freedom he has been given in his new role, has attracted a lot of attention.

By playing higher up the pitch, he looks more free, more influential and closer to the role in which he first made such an impact at the Bernabeu in his debut 2023-24 season, where he scored 23 goals as his side won La Liga and the Champions League.

Bellingham’s last two campaigns were less consistent, with his displays and attacking influence affected not only by a deeper role, but by recurring injuries. He had a long-standing shoulder problem that required surgery in 2025 and a hamstring issue that kept him out for 10 matches in 2026.

Now, however, he appears to be at peak fitness, ready to build on his impressive World Cup form for England and showcase the full extent of his talent.

Since returning this summer to take charge of the club for a second spell, Mourinho has made an important adjustment in reducing the defensive workload that previously meant Bellingham had to cover huge areas of the pitch.

“We’ve organised the team differently,” he said after Real Madrid’s 4-0 La Liga win over Malaga.

“Bellingham sometimes defended like a second left-back last season. I told him I do not want to see that anymore. I made a deal with him.”

The Portuguese manager has used Bellingham primarily as a number 10 in a 4-2-3-1 system, operating behind French striker Kylian Mbappe and with the freedom to move across the attacking line.

That gives the England midfielder a clearer role. Rather than constantly moving between midfield, defence and attack, he can spend more time in the areas where he is most dangerous.

“For me, this is his position, with his connection with the forwards, he can score goals,” added Mourinho.

“He has to play close to the goal. Playing at number six or number eight, we’re losing his closeness to the goal. I like this Jude.”

It has meant Bellingham can receive the ball between the lines, carry it forward, combine with the forwards and make late runs into the penalty area.

Just as importantly, he is being given greater freedom to decide when to move.

Bellingham has explained the difference himself in an interview with Real Madrid TV.

“I feel more free to decide when to drop back, when to stay up or when to get into the box,” he said. “I think this is the best position for me.”

Mourinho still expects him to press and recover possession, but the difference is where that work begins.

Instead of dropping deep towards his own penalty area, Bellingham can now use his energy to press opponents higher up the pitch.

When Madrid win the ball, he is already closer to the forwards. That allows him to connect midfield with attack and provide another player who can combine with Mbappe and Vinicius Jr.

It also explains why Mourinho has been keen to stress Madrid’s attacking players must work together rather than operate as individuals.

“The team dynamic is about 11, not 2+9,” he said.

The midfielder also described working with Mourinho as a “dream”, having previously only met the former Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham manager once before his appointment.

There is clearly an early understanding and respect between the two.

Mourinho has repeatedly spoken about Bellingham’s importance to his plans, describing him as a “unique and super important player” with qualities that include physical, mental and tactical.

He also suggested Bellingham should be one of the players in the running for the Ballon d’Or.

“He is a unique kind of player and extremely important for the team,” said Mourinho.

“His mental strength, tactical ability, the way he recovers the ball, the way he pressures, the way he plays up front, I am very happy.”

For Mourinho, that versatility is part of what makes Bellingham so valuable. He can press, recover possession, score, contribute in the air and drive the team forward.

The Real boss has also pointed to Thomas Tuchel’s use of Bellingham at the World Cup as an example of how to get the best out of him.

Bellingham was one of England’s standout players, finishing with seven goals and an assist in his eight appearances, and his attacking qualities were allowed to flourish.

That experience also appears to have given the player a confidence boost, particularly as he rejoined Madrid later than most of his team-mates and had less time to prepare for the new campaign.

Although Real’s three league wins - scoring 10 goals and conceding two - are only a small sample, and the demands will increase as the season progresses amid Champions League football, the early signs are very positive.

For Bellingham, whose huge strength has always been his ability to affect almost every part of a game, Mourinho’s system has given him more control over where that influence is used.

After a difficult couple of seasons following the high standards he set in his first year, the England midfielder is enjoying his football again.

“I’m having a lot of fun, I’m really enjoying my football, and that’s why I’m performing well,” he told club media.

If he continues in this vein with Mourinho’s continued support, it could turn out to be his best season yet.

Arsenal's Martinelli joins Al-Hilal in £60m move

Gabriel Martinelli joined Arsenal in 2019

Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli has joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal for a fee of £60m.

The deal, which is worth a guaranteed £60m and includes a sell-on fee, ends the Brazil international’s seven-year stay in north London.

Martinelli, 25, has signed a four-year deal with Al-Hilal, who are currently joint-top of the league with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr.

He joined the Gunners from Brazilian side Ituano in 2019 and had 12 months remaining on his deal at Emirates Stadium, but had been told by manager Mikel Arteta he was not part of his plans for this season.

“Proud to be blue, proud to be Al-Hilal,” said Martinelli during an unveiling video on the club’s social media channels.

He will team up with Ollie Watkins at Al-Hilal after the England striker left Aston Villa in a £51m deal.

Dutch winger Crysencio Summerville also joined the Saudi side, who are managed by Simone Inzaghi, from West Ham this summer following their relegation from the Premier League.

The wages Al-Hilal offered Martinelli are thought to be significantly more than his reported £180,000 per week deal at Arsenal.

He made 53 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring 11 goals, as the Gunners won the top-flight title for the first time since 2004.

But he was left out of Arsenal’s first two matchday squads of the season, with Arteta making it clear Martinelli would struggle for game time should he remain at the club.

Former Gunners striker Ian Wright was also critical of the club’s decision to omit Martinelli from the squad for the opening game against Coventry.

“The way Martinelli is being treated at the moment, it really makes me feel uncomfortable,” he told Sky Sports.

“I know they might want him out, and a lot of people might say, ‘yeah, it’s time for him to move him on’. But there’s ways of doing that and it should suit him as well, how he wants to leave.”

Breaking down Chelsea's staggering 39 summer exits

Enzo Fernandez left Chelsea for a joint-British transfer record fee of £125m on Tuesday

Chelsea have had a few remarkable transfer summers since their forced sale from Roman Abramovich’s control in May 2022.

Once again they were big spenders, outlaying £349m on 11 signings such as Morgan Rogers, Maxence Lacroix and Emiliano Martinez.

But there was something different this time.

Chelsea actually made a trading profit after selling 17 players.

Another 22 were loaned out, four of those with either sell-on options or obligations totalling more than £140m.

It meant a staggering 39 players left the club - and that is not including the four young players who were released.

And, remarkably after all that, the Chelsea website still lists a first-team squad on their books of 30 players.

Here, we break down the Blues’ remarkable summer of 50 deals, focusing on their 39 sales.

Chelsea’s internal figures suggest the club generated more than £500m in player departures during the summer window.

This includes loan fees and is a total that would represent a world record.

Earlier this week BBC Sport’s calculations, carried out by FootballTransfers.com founder Paul Macdonald, put the incomings at £349m and the outgoings at £382m.

That figure did not include any potential loan option/obligation fees, or future clauses which are dependent on achieving certain targets.

Chelsea estimate they have made a profit of about £120m on transfer activity.

Whichever way you add it up, their summer represents a staggering, record-breaking period of player trading in European football.

Among the 39 players sold or loaned out were Enzo Fernandez, whose £125m move to Manchester City matched the British transfer record, and Senegal striker Nicolas Jackson, who joined Aston Villa for £65m.

Spain full-back Marc Cucurella moved to Real Madrid for £51.8m, while Liam Delap and Andrey Santos were each sold in deals worth around £50m.

In fact Chelsea had five sales above £40m, or seven if you include two loans that have a £75m option (Mykhailo Mudryk to Tottenham) and a £43m obligation (Alejandro Garnacho to Villa).

To put that into context, there were four £40m-plus signings in the whole of Serie A, two in La Liga and four in the German Bundesliga.

What has been stark is Chelsea’s willingness to do business with Premier League clubs, including their rivals.

Arsenal are the ‘big six’ club to have signed the most Blues players under the current ownership, recruiting Noni Madueke, Kai Havertz and Kepa Arrizabalaga among others.

Chelsea have also completed eight deals with Aston Villa in four years - a figure matched only by the number of Brighton players who have moved to Stamford Bridge during the same period.

They also did business with Tottenham for the first time in 17 years when winger Mudryk joined Spurs on loan.

It was also the first loan move between the clubs in 34 years.

Yet again there were more deals with sister club Strasbourg this summer - two transfers and three loans.

Does this all show Chelsea’s recruitment strategy, which has attracted significant criticism over the years, has finally started to deliver, at least financially?

Or has it been a sign of sorting out the transfer chaos of the first four years under Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital?

For most of their tenure, the strategy centred on signing young players to long-term contracts and rapidly rebuilding a squad largely inherited from the Abramovich era - a process that initially came at considerable expense.

Spending on transfer fees has overall significantly exceeded income from player sales - and the club subsequently breached Uefa’s financial controls, resulting in a fine and a settlement agreement.

Chelsea also controversially remained within Premier League financial regulations after selling assets, including two hotels and the women’s team, to companies within the club’s ownership structure.

Since then, they have increasingly focused on trying to balance their spending by generating significant transfer income.

Before this summer, Chelsea had already recorded sales total of £236m, £178m and £289m in successive summers.

Put simply, Chelsea have spent almost £2bn across nine transfer windows, but have generated more than £1bn through player sales in this time.

Chelsea’s chastening 8-2 Champions League defeat by Paris St-Germain last season was a turning point.

The discontent that had simmered behind the scenes - and in the stands - became harder to ignore.

Players, including Fernandez and Cucurella, publicly questioned aspects of the club’s direction, while supporter protests reflected a growing sense of frustration during a difficult period on and off the pitch.

A 10th-placed Premier League finish last season only intensified scrutiny amid a growing acknowledgement within the club that change was needed.

Senior figures began speaking to experienced players to gather feedback with the aim of addressing some of the concerns.

Some like Fernandez were unconvinced and pushed to leave, but Moises Caicedo, Reece James and Joao Pedro renewed their contracts.

Influential co-owner Behdad Eghbali also publicly acknowledged the need to “tweak the model”, improve decision-making and learn from mistakes.

Chelsea appointed Xabi Alonso as manager, believing he had the profile and authority to command the dressing room.

Recruitment was also reassessed.

Previous managers had highlighted shortcomings within what had been the Premier League’s youngest squad for two consecutive seasons.

Those concerns ranged from a poor disciplinary record and difficulties defending set-pieces to lapses in concentration, inconsistent finishing and, ultimately, inconsistent results.

Sources around the club have also described a dressing-room culture affected at times by high turnover, with some feeling the pace of change became too rapid and relationships too transactional.

The arrivals of Jordan Henderson, Danny Welbeck and Argentina keeper Martinez, the oldest players Chelsea have signed since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in 2022, are intended to bring experience and leadership to a youthful group.

Rogers and Lacroix have also arrived with proven Premier League pedigree and physical presence, although the club’s commitment to recruiting elite young talent remains unchanged.

The adjusted approach amounts to an acknowledgement that elements of the previous strategy fell short, while retaining the principles that have enabled Chelsea to generate significant transfer profits.

Whether it leads to success on the pitch this season remains to be seen.

How Alvarez needs to rebuild trust at Atletico

Julian Alvarez made 49 appearances for Atletico Madrid last season, scoring 20 goals

Julian Alvarez’s future at Atletico Madrid has been one of the biggest talking points of the summer.

But now that it is certain the Argentina forward will remain at Atleti until at least the January transfer window, the focus can turn to how the 26-year-old re-establishes himself in Diego Simeone’s side.

With three consecutive away games ahead, Simeone has the opportunity to ease him back into the team - away from the glare of their own fans.

But the bigger challenge for Alvarez may be convincing supporters that his focus is firmly on Atletico, after making clear during the summer that he would have preferred a move to Barcelona.

Alvarez joined Simeone’s Atletico Madrid from Manchester City in August 2024

Throughout the saga Simeone has consistently backed Alvarez publicly, emphasising the forward’s importance to his plans - both as a player and person.

In August, he described him as “one of the players, or the best player, we have offensively” and said he wanted to “build a team around him”, pointing to the forward’s “power, quality, hierarchy and talent”.

That support has continued throughout these past few weeks of uncertainty.

Alvarez missed Atletico’s opening game against Malaga after Simeone said he needed more training following his return to pre-season.

He returned to the Metropolitano for the following match against Villarreal, but it was an uncomfortable night for the Argentina forward. He was booed by the club’s fans when his name was announced, during the warm-up and again when he came on in the second half.

After the final whistle, while his team-mates stayed on the pitch to thank the supporters, Alvarez walked alone down the tunnel.

Simeone later stressed that this was the club’s decision, not the player’s, saying: “The decision was not Julian Alvarez’s; it was the club’s decision to separate him and send him to the dressing room.”

Alvarez then missed three consecutive training sessions because of an illness and was subsequently ruled out of Atletico’s trip to Sevilla.

Simeone confirmed his absence before the match, but reiterated his support for the forward and said he would do everything possible to make him feel important when he returned.

“We will help him because he is an extraordinary player,” he said, while insisting that the club’s approach remained focused on supporting him.

Alvarez eventually returned to full group training on Sunday, putting him back in contention for selection.

Simeone considers his fellow Argentine central to Atletico’s plans, but the forward’s response will now have to come on the pitch.

Atleti have already shown they can cope without Alvarez. In his absence against Sevilla, Simeone moved Alex Baena into a false-nine role, with the Spain international responding with two goals in a 3-1 victory.

Baena’s performance demonstrated that Atletico have other attacking options, but Alvarez remains a different profile and one of the most important players in Simeone’s plans.

With three away games ahead, Simeone can gradually bring Alvarez back into the side and allow him to rediscover his rhythm away from 70,000 Atleti fans.

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho was also asked about the situation.

He pointed to Simeone’s unique understanding of both Alvarez and Atletico, saying: “There’s no other manager that knows him better and knows the club better than Simeone.”

Mourinho added: “If a player is not satisfied, by 1 September, when the window is closed, he has to be. Otherwise, he won’t play again until 1 January.”

Perhaps the biggest challenge for Alvarez now is rebuilding his relationship with the Atleti supporters.

Sections of the fanbase have made their feelings very clear, with Alvarez whistled and jeered during the opening weeks of the season.

“It’s completely understandable that Atleti didn’t want to agree to Barca’s terms, just because he wanted to go there,” Atleti supporter Dani said. “It doesn’t just work like that.”

“Atleti wants to compete with the best in La Liga and they can’t just sell our best player directly to our rival for very little.”

From the supporters’ perspective, that frustration is understandable. If your star striker appears to want to leave, particularly if the destination could be one of your biggest rivals, winning back that backing is never going to happen overnight.

“His words and attitude were completely unexpected,” another supporter, Ignacio, said.

“He has probably been badly advised by his agent and those around him.”

“Even if he apologises it is clear he has a desire to leave and, now that the window has closed, it will feel like a forced apology.”

The club paid a record £81.5m to sign him from Manchester City in 2024, giving him a six-year contract and making him one of the biggest investments of Simeone’s tenure.

He has repaid some of that investment with 49 goals and 17 assists in 107 appearances and, for much of his time in Madrid, has enjoyed the support of the fans. The challenge now is to rebuild that connection.

“If he starts scoring goals, people will start feeling anxious,” Dani said.

“But then there’s the fans who never forget. People still haven’t forgiven [Antoine] Griezmann for what he did, and he apologised on the pitch in front of 60,000 people at the end of last season”.

Antoine Griezmann’s departure for Barcelona in 2019 left a sour taste among the Atletico fanbase, but, when he returned two years later, he gradually rebuilt that relationship through his performances and commitment.

By the time he left in 2026, he had won back the majority of the supporters and established himself as one of the club’s most important figures.

His departure, however, leaves Atletico without an experienced leader in attack.

Simeone will look to Alvarez to take on more responsibility - not only by scoring goals - but by leading the press, creating space and bringing others into the game.

He will have little time to find his rhythm before the Champions League begins.

Atletico face a demanding run of fixtures, including away games against Athletic Club, Liverpool and Real Sociedad, before returning home to face Osasuna and then Real Madrid in La Liga.

If Alvarez can reproduce the form that made him such an important figure at Atletico, the events of the summer may gradually fade into the background.