It cost 126 million euros and leaves Atlético de Madrid after an intense fight with Diego Simeone

the ordeal of Joao Felix in Atletico Madrid is about to end. After a brief dispute over his signature, he was finally Chelsea the club willing to pay the amount of 11 million euros for a loan of just six months to take it to the Premier League. Los Blues they are far from their best moment, marching tenth in the league, but for Félix it will be the search for a completely different environment from the one he lived in the club mattresswhere his relationship with Diego Simeone It was completely broken after a long time of wear.

Looking at Félix’s figures in the Madrid outfit, it’s hard to think why the club would have been willing to spend the record amount of €126 million in 2019 by someone who could never adapt to what his coach was asking for.

But if the context of the disbursement is observed, it is possible to find a justification for such an investment. Felix had barely made his professional debut to Benfica in the previous cycle, but that 2018/19 season was explosive for him, closing with 20 goals in 45 games and being the figure of the campaign in Europa League, reaching the quarterfinals before losing to Eintracht Frankfurt. On the other hand, Atlético de Madrid was in an extreme situation: Barcelona had communicated its intention to activate the termination clause of Antoine Griezmannthe club’s top scorer that season with 21 goals, for €120 millionand he immediately needed someone to try to replace his scoring quota.

The reality indicated that there was nothing further than that. The Portuguese was plagued by various injuries in his time in Madridbut in the periods in which he was on the field he was never satisfied with the role assigned to him Diego Simeonewho sought to use his talent in one-on-one from the left lane.

For his part, the Argentine DT also expressed annoyance to see that Félix did not back down and made the same defensive contribution that Griezmann used to doand the following year appointed Luis Suarez, arrived from Barcelona for a very small amount, like his favorite striker. The bet worked: the Uruguayan’s 21 goals were essential for the first league title for the Colchoneros since 2014, but Felix’s role was very reducedand when Suárez’s scoring quota dropped to 13 goals the following year, his 10 were not enough to replace him adequately.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1w_pqFXXrOU

Facing the start of the current course, the tensions were palpable, but as the games went by they escalated considerably. Felix did start the season as a starter, but only because the comeback Griezmann, to Simeone’s liking, had to resolve a strange clause with Barcelona so as not to activate an automatic repurchase of 40 million euros. Once that situation was resolved, the Portuguese returned to the substitute bench, and between mid-September and the end of October he never played more than 15 minutes per game. And from there the gestures and crossed statements began.

After Félix reacted negatively for entering just 10 minutes in a 2-0 loss against Bruges in the Champions Leaguethe team bounced back with a 2-0 League win against Girona, thanks to a brace from Angel Correa that Simeone took advantage of to launch a criticism for elevation: “When Correa is angry, he shows it on the pitch”. For the second match against the Belgians, the striker would not enter either, and upon learning of DT’s decision he threw his bib to the floor amidst his anger, to which the Argentine responded sarcastically: “His numbers are In view of all. It’s normal for him to be frustrated. Everything bad that he does is because I do it even worseall the frustration he can have is that I have not been able to give him everything he needs to show all the talent and football he has”.

By mid-October, the questions from the press about Félix’s non-participation in a very difficult period for Atlético intensified, and Simeone retorted to justify his decisions: “Do you honestly think that I am not going to put João Félix to lose ? I’m not like that. No coach is like that, ”he defended himself. “When João is well again in training, running when the team needs him in the match, when he comes back to score the goal, which he has and we need him again, he will play. Hopefully when it’s his turn he shows everything he has. He played every time he was good, ”said the DT, who began to reap better results and strengthen his position. “When talking about João, the focus is on what happens to João; if it happened to Correa, Cunha, Morata or Griezmann, the subject would not be touched on in the same way. It generates opinion and discussion to talk about João ”, she criticized later.

That streak continued in the League, where Atlético was well established in the fight to be in the first four positions, but its campaign in the Champions League ended in the worst way, with two defeats against Bayer Leverkusen and Porto that left him out of all European competition, with very little participation from Félix, who already began to make efforts to find a new club in January. Later the owner of the club, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, expressed in December, while the striker was playing in the World Cup, what was already an open secret: “It is the biggest bet the club has made this season. I think it has the world maximum level, but for the reasons that now it is not worth entering, the relationship between Simeone and him is not good, nor is his motivation the best. It is reasonable for him to think about leaving, but I would love for him to continue with us, even if this is not the player’s idea”.

Also, while your agent jorge mendes Negotiating the terms of a loan outside the club, Félix returned to Simeone’s starting eleven, but by then it was already an attempt to arouse the interest of other clubs than a possible reconciliation. Arsenal y Manchester United They showed themselves to be the first interested parties, but they were reluctant to pay the figure of 15 million euros (plus another 6 million that correspond to his full salary) that Atlético demanded of them. Chelsea was ultimately the closest to that number, and the operation was closed at 11 millionbut with conditions that in the long term favor the people of Madrid: there is no purchase option in the agreement and before Felix will sign an extension of his contract until 2027.

Los Colchoneros They have several reasons for not being ready to completely part with João Félix yet. First, the money they initially invested in it is too high to justify a very significant loss (Arsenal, for example, was looking for an option for 70 million, which would have been more than 50 less than what Atlético paid out), so the extension of the relationship leaves them better prepared to negotiate a possible future sale. Second, the longer duration also means a breath of air for the club’s accounts, allowing his high salary to be more spaced out in time. And third, it expresses very clearly that At Atlético they bet more on Félix’s future at the club than Simeone’s, whose own contract expires in 2024, and even rumors are beginning to circulate that it ends prematurely.

What is certain is that the João Félix-Diego Simeone relationship is totally irreversible, and it has already spread to the other members of the squad: “In the end, it is his thing. Because he has to know that the whole team, all the fans, everyone is with him. It is something that he has to know how to manage ”, Saúl, a reference to the team, told DAZN at the end of October. “He has quality and he has to know that he has to put it at the service of the team, as he does in training and is doing in matches”. The divisions moved to the locker room, with some sharing the sentiment of the Portuguese and others remaining faithful to the Argentine. But while Félix’s temporary departure could count as a battle won by Simeone, Atlético’s moves indicate that he could end up losing the war.