Atletico Madrid president dismisses exit rumours surrounding Barcelona target – ‘Will be with us for a long time’

Barcelona have their task cut out tonight as they take on Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano, looking to overturn a 2-0 deficit.

In an ironic twist, it was Julian Alvarez, the Barcelona target, who had caused a lot of pain in the first leg and naturally, his performance will be in focus in the second leg as well.

Heading into this high-stakes encounter, Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has made his intentions clear, as far as the future of Alvarez is concerned.

Speaking to the media (h/t Mundo Deportivo ), the Atletico Madrid president claimed that Alvarez is here to stay and is not going anywhere this summer.

“He played a great game. And yes, he’ll be with us for a long time,” said Cerezo as he praised the Argentine’s performance in the first leg.

Cerezo’s comments come at a time when Barcelona are reportedly waiting for the second leg to be over to make moves for their attacking target .

The Atleti president, though, is having none of it and has no intention of offloading his star player to a direct rival this summer.

All eyes will be on Alvarez tonight. (Photo by Eric Alonso/Getty Images)

During the interaction, Cerezo also spoke about Barcelona and their desire to stage a comeback at the Metropolitano tonight.

“They’ll also be coming with a lot of desire to come back, but they won’t be the only ones willing to do anything. We’re also very eager to win. We’ve prepared very well for this match, we’ve worked hard, and we hope to play a good game,” he said.

The Spaniard is confident Atletico Madrid can reach the semifinal of this prestigious tournament by seeing through the Barcelona threat.

“I really have no doubts, I’m convinced we’ll play a great game and advance to the next round. I’m sure we’ll give even more than in the first leg, don’t doubt it,” he said.

Finally, he talked about the referee, with Clement Turpin set to officiate this high-stake encounter.

“I don’t like to talk about referees. As you know, because it’s not the first time I’ve said it, I don’t like VAR. I believe that referees make decisions based on what they see and should be left to work in peace,” he concluded.