Lamine Yamal urges Julian Alvarez to join Barcelona amid growing Atletico exit saga

Speaking from Spain's World Cup camp ahead of their round-of-32 clash with Austria, the 18-year-old winger made no secret of his admiration for Alvarez amid growing uncertainty surrounding the forward's future in Madrid.

"I'm not thinking about it too much, but I'd love it, because he's a great player," Yamal told Cadena SER. "If he comes, we'll welcome him with open arms. If I were him, I'd do it. We'll be waiting for him if he wants to come."

Yamal even went further, describing Barcelona as "the best club in the world" and saying the city and supporters should be enough to convince Alvarez to make the move.

The comments come as tensions continue to rise between Atletico and Barcelona over the striker's future. Alvarez confirmed last week that he wants to leave Atletico after two seasons at the club, although he stopped short of naming his preferred destination.

Sources in Spain, however, indicate that the former Manchester City forward favours a switch to Barcelona. Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Real Madrid have also been linked with the 26-year-old, with reports claiming Los Blancos had a 150 million euros bid rejected earlier this month.

Atletico have reacted angrily to Barcelona's public pursuit of the player. Chief executive Miguel Angel Marín accused the Catalan club of showing "disrespect", while reports from COPE claim Atletico have lodged a formal complaint with both FIFA and the Royal Spanish Football Federation over what they believe has been improper conduct.

Despite Alvarez's desire to leave, Atletico remain determined to keep hold of one of their star players. The club have repeatedly pointed to his 500 million euros release clause and insist they have no intention of selling a player who still has four years remaining on his contract.

Barcelona, meanwhile, view Alvarez as the ideal long-term successor to Robert Lewandowski and have already received public backing from within the dressing room. Midfielder Pedri recently admitted he wants "the best players at the club", although he acknowledged the financial obstacles that could complicate any deal.

Whether player power can force a breakthrough remains to be seen, but Yamal's latest comments have only added more intrigue to one of the biggest transfer sagas.

Away from the transfer speculation, Yamal is focused on Spain's World Cup campaign after returning from injury. The teenager has been eased into the tournament by coach Luis de la Fuente and believes La Roja are still yet to show their best form.

"I'm learning," Yamal said. "International football is different from club football. I'm gaining experience and figuring out how to handle the return from injury. Now I feel great and I'm really looking forward to Thursday."

Spain progressed to the knockout stages as group winners after drawing with Cape Verde before victories over Saudi Arabia and Uruguay.

"I don't think we've played a really great match yet," Yamal added. "Once we hit our stride - and we definitely will - we'll be almost unstoppable."