Julian Alvarez Weighs Split From Agent Fernando Hidalgo

Julian Alvarez is weighing a split from Fernando Hidalgo, the agent who has represented him for his entire professional career, according to Mundo Deportivo. The Atletico Madrid forward has already held talks with The Elegant Game, the agency run by former Paris Saint-Germain and Argentina midfielder Javier Pastore.

No decision has been taken. But by all accounts people close to the 26-year-old have raised the idea with him for some time, believing Hidalgo mishandled his affairs during the uncertainty over his future this summer.

That uncertainty centred on Barcelona. Alvarez wanted the move; Atletico refused to sell to the club they are trying to overhaul at the top of La Liga, though they were prepared to let him leave elsewhere. The saga has left the forward at odds with his own supporters, and Atletico chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin pointed the finger squarely at the player's camp and at Barcelona for how it played out.

The Elegant Game already represents Manchester City midfielder Enzo Fernandez, a close friend of Alvarez who joined City from Chelsea this summer for a club-record £125m fee, and the agency helped push through his exit from Stamford Bridge. Fernandez has yet to open his account in a City shirt since that move.

Alvarez has made three appearances this season without scoring, though he did supply an assist against Liverpool this week. He has still to win back the Atletico fans after the summer episode, and a switch away from Hidalgo would be read at the club as a gesture toward mending that relationship, since no such gesture has come from the Argentine himself since deadline day.

None of this resolves the underlying question of whether Atletico will keep blocking a move to Barcelona. A change of representation would not settle that dispute on its own, but it could shape how the next round of it is conducted.