Julian Alvarez was the subject of a very public transfer row between Atletico Madrid and Barcelona over the summer, and he eventually stayed in the Spanish capital

Barcelona have been fined a paltry €602 (£503) after Atletico Madrid filed a complaint with Spanish football authorities over the Catalan club contacting star striker Julian Alvarez over a summer transfer. The Argentina international was keen to move to Atletico's La Liga rivals, but the Spanish giants angrily refused to deal with Barcelona due to their actions.

Atletico filed a complaint with RFEF in July, highlighting competition regulations that say 'the club wishing to sign a professional footballer must communicate its intention in writing to the club to which the footballer is attached before starting negotiations with the footballer'.

Alvarez is contracted by Atletico until 2030, and rumours over the Spanish champions making a move to land Alvarez frustrated Los Colchoneros. They took the transfer row public with a series of fake transfer posts and said: “Don’t believe everything you see, especially if it’s related to Barca.”

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And now Barcelona have been found to have fallen foul of Article 133 of the competition regulations, which states that failure to comply with orders, instructions, agreements, or regulatory obligations will be sanctioned as a minor infraction, with a fine of up to €602.

Barca have previously received a similar punishment for targeting an Atletico Madrid star. In 2019, the club filed a complaint against Barcelona over its contract with Antoine Griezmann.

Alvarez public desire to leave the Metropolitano over the summer saw him draw the ire of Atletico's supporters. After scoring against Deportivo recently, the former Manchester City star attempted to make amends with them.

"I apologise to our fans," he said. "They have always been very generous with me. It was neither the right moment nor the right way to handle things.

"If I were a fan, I would have been angry too. Now, it’s time to compete for everything."

Atletico boss Diego Simeone backed the forward following his contrition "I value very much the moment of asking for forgiveness because it is not easy," he said.

"Julian is a humble, hard-working boy who loves his teammates, and I appreciate his apology because it positions him in the place that he is. I am not here to judge whether it was right or wrong. Life develops and I appreciate this. It is welcome