After Argentina’s 2-0 victory over Austria in Arlington, Texas on Monday, Julián Alvarez publicly asked to leave Atlético de Madrid.

“This isn’t the time to talk about this, but I can’t hide either. I try to be an honest person,” Alvarez said on ESPN. “I spoke with the people at Atlético de Madrid, and I think the best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfill my dream.”

Alvarez, who is under contract with Atlético until 2030, has been heavily linked with FC Barcelona over the past year. Last month, Marca reported that Alvarez and his agent Fernando Hidalgo informed the club that the 26-year-old’s preferred destination was Barça this summer. The Catalan club then submitted a €100 million offer for Alvarez on May 29, which Atleti dismissed with a series of posts on Twitter.

Earlier this month, Atleti turned down a €150 million offer from Real Madrid for Alvarez, although some sources doubt the bid was genuine and believe it was intended to establish Alvarez’s market value if he eventually leaves. Officially, however, Atleti directed both Barcelona and Real Madrid to the player’s €500 million release clause.

Now that Alvarez has publicly revealed his transfer “dream”, Barcelona may feel more confident in negotiating for the Argentina star on their terms after a year-long media campaign designed to achieve this exact result. Atlético’s position has also been weakened somewhat now that Alvarez has openly stated that he wants to leave the club.

However, Atleti immediately returned to its firm stance regarding Alvarez’s short-term future on Monday night. The club reiterated that it will not transfer the player to Barça under any circumstances and is preparing to file an official complaint with FIFA over Barça’s alleged attempts to approach the player. It also remains the case that Atleti have no financial pressure to sell following Apollo Sports Capital’s €2.5 billion takeover in March. Cadena COPE even reported on Monday that Alvarez could be left out of the squad if Atleti do not receive an offer they consider acceptable.