Borja Aranda on Julián Álvarez: respect, but the bond is broken

For Borja Aranda, Julián performing and normalising the situation vindicates the hard line the club took in the transfer window, which was criticised at the time. On an emotional level he will not rebuild the bond, but he respects him as a professional.

Borja Aranda looks beyond the football itself. In his view, the way events have unfolded greatly strengthens what Mateo Alemán did: the show of strength the club wanted to make, branded outrageous by many at the time, is now vindicated because the striker is taking steps to normalise the situation and is also performing. A firm position in the market, and the matter closed.

He acknowledges that the coaching staff suffered for a couple of months without a key player in their attacking set-up, but insists that the club's handling of the affair has paid off.

On the apology, he points out that Julián said sorry for the process, the place and the timing, but did not talk about his feelings, which remained the same. He believes the lesson learned, perhaps linked to his change of representation, comes down to keeping his feelings to himself, dealing with them with those close to him, and focusing on playing and reconnecting with the fans.

And he takes a clear stance: on an emotional level he will never again have the bond he once had, but he does have respect for the Atlético professional, and he wants things to go well for him because that will be good for the team.