ATLETICO Madrid’s mega €126 million move for Portuguese starlet Joao Felix from Benfica seems quite incredible in many ways until you start to look closer at all those involved.
While Barcelona are expected to trigger current Atletico star Antoine Griezmann’s €120m release clause as soon as this week, it remains startling to see the heavily-indebted rojiblanco outfit immediately spend even more on such an unproven replacement.
Not that the kid does not look a bit special – with 20 goals and seven assists in all competitions during his first season of senior football, and a Portugal senior debut as his country won the season- completing Nations League on home soil.
19 Year Old João Félix for Benfica:
️ 43 games played
⚽ 20 goals
️ 11 assists
⏰ A goal every 143 minutesUnbelievable stats
What other young players have stood out this season..? pic.twitter.com/Z7DtpSEdmi
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) May 19, 2019
Such an impact brought reports that Real Madrid, Manchester United, Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus, AC Milan, Borussia Dortmund and [ahem] West Ham had all been sending scouts to the Estadio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica. In March his release clause rose to World Cup winner Griezmann's level of €120m, as all involved prepared for the big move which was inevitably coming soon.
“I'm a professional and very lucky to be well advised,” Felix himself said in February as he got comfortable in the shop window. “My father was a PE teacher, who was an athletics coach and knows our world very well. Then I have the best agent in the world in Jorge Mendes. I am attracted by the big leagues like the Spanish, English, Italian and French. All the best Portuguese players went to play in the most important foreign leagues and, of course, I would like to do it, too.”
Given many of Europe’s richest clubs were among his reported suitors, it seemed quite unlikely that always financially troubled Atletico could sign him, even with Griezmann leaving. Their recent stadium move to the Wanda Metropolitano has raised estimates of their short and long term debt up to around €600 million.
Portada As 12 Junio 2019: "El Atleti echa el resto por Joao Félix":https://t.co/2pTdiuVVZG
— Futbol Actualidad (@FutbolAct2018) June 12, 2019
Even still front page stories in the Spanish sports media continued to trumpet the possibility, with AS and Marca getting impressive insider access to the thinking in his camp, while the youngster himself waited on a beach in Ibiza.
As the days went by and the rumours continued, one clue as to how Atletico could pull off such a coup came in a Marca report last week: “One thing favouring Atletico is that the player's agent, Jorge Mendes, already has a close relationship with [Atletico chief executive] Miguel Angel Gil Marin and they have worked together in the past, most notably with [Radamel] Falcao.”
Alongside Falcao, other Mendes clients including defenders Felipe Luis and Joao Miranda, midfielder Tiago and forward Diego Costa, were all important to the early success under Diego Simeone. It has been a while though since a Gestifute player was an important contributor on the pitch. Mendes represented players have kept passing through Atletico without leaving much impression – with Wolves’ trio Diogo Jota, Jonny Castro and Raul Jimenez all being good examples.
Jimenez had a spell too at Benfica, where Mendes, of course, has a long-standing relationship. The mention of Falcao also recalls Atletico’s very close historic links with Monaco, which continued on Monday with confirmation that winger Gelson Martins was making a permanent switch from the Wanda to the Principality.
DONE DEAL: @AS_Monaco_EN have secured the permanent signing of #GelsonMartins from @Atleti ⚪️ pic.twitter.com/GEYiiNlnPF
— Transfer Centre (@Transfersdotcom) July 2, 2019
Meanwhile, the mega-move for Joao Felix remained in limbo, as Atletico waited for Barcelona to trigger Griezmann’s release clause and release the funds they promised last week to pay Benfica.
The Falcao example could be instructive long term. The Colombia international clearly enjoyed his time scoring 70 goals in 91 games at Atletico, winning the 2012 Europa League and 2013 Copa del Rey titles, only to leave in tears for Monaco in a move in which Football Leaks later revealed Atletico received just €43 million [almost €20 million less) than was reported at the time.
“They never offered to let me stay at Atletico,” Falcao recalled in 2016. “The impression they gave me was that the club had to sell me to survive. We understood the financial situation.” Maybe two years with Atletico – and matching Falcao’s numbers of goals and trophies – would be an ideal next step for Joao Felix before he moves on to an even bigger club in an even more expensive transfer.
How he will react to the tough tactical and physical demands of Simeone’s regime is difficult to predict however, and football history is full of starlets who never make good on early potential.
You would hope that the kid and his PE teacher father know what they are getting into.
