There is a place where they worship Joao Felix. A city in which he is the flag, ambassador and is considered as a person “who always tries to help people”. That enclave is his native Viseu, which remains his home for all intents and purposes. Soccer players tend to find an adopted homeland that they acquire thanks to the love that their fans give them. Joao Félix has not yet given with the place in which to retire or receive a warm tribute.
Barcelona is the closest thing that a footballer who came through the Porto youth academy and ended up at Benfica now has. At Atlético he is an outsider with a plaque on the Paseo de los Players Centenarios, as the old Paseo de Leyendas has had to be renamed, due to cases like his. His plaque was vandalized before a duel in which he was the protagonist, scoring a goal and activating Barça in their triumphant win.
The contained celebration of Joao Félix in the Metropolitano in Atlético – FC Barcelona (0-3). / VALENTÍ ENRICH
Burning of a Joao Félix shirt
“He played a very good and important game, especially when we didn’t have the ball. Joao (Félix) had a lot of defensive commitment. I think I was overmotivated. It was a match for him.. “He has made the difference, we are very happy for him,” defended Savic with whom he has shared a dressing room. He even burned a shirt with his number on it near the Metropolitano.
Joao Félix was the only one who understood what the game was about in the first half hour. Barça did not heed the instructions of the Portuguese player, who showed the way inside. That’s where the red and white team scored 0-1, with a magnificent shot and a celebration between enjoyment and contention. It did not repeat the euphoria of the first round, but the celebration was even more symbolic. Fermín pointed out to him. He put his hands in front of him.
He was the main protagonist until his substitution in the 77th minute. He retired calmly. He hugged Óscar Hernández, who ended up directing the match due to the expulsion of his brother Xavi. And he did it with a curious statistic in his favor. He became the first Barça player to score in his two games against Atlético in the same season in the League since Messi in 2019/2020. The previous player to score in both of his matches against the ‘colchoneros’ after having worn the red and white was John Capdevila with Deportivo in 2005/2006.
Joao Félix, in a moment of Atlético – FC Barcelona. / VALENTÍ ENRICH
Another irregular season and an unfulfilled dream
Joao Félix’s switch has been turned on after an irregular season in which his future is at stake. He is 24 years old, but there have been so many opportunities that he has had that everything in the Portuguese has the character of an ultimatum. With less than four months until he finishes his transfer, The Portuguese has participated in 33 games and has played 1,854 minutes, which represent just over 60% of the total. With the score against Atlético, Joao Félix has nine goals and five assists.
He has only been fundamental in four confrontations: the two in front of the Atléticoagainst Porto in the Champions League and against Betis in the League. Joao Félix has not managed to be the differential player for whom the red and whites paid 127 million euros. He is far from fulfilling the “dream” with which he came to Barça, a story that, according to what this newspaper was able to investigate, They did not know those who accompanied him in his training stage.
It was the young Joao who secretly watched the games of the best Barça squad that ever existed. He made public his desire to go to Barcelona to force an operation commanded by Jorge Mendes, who two weeks ago held a summit to decide the future of the ‘Joaos’. Both Félix’s and Cancelo’s, to which Fermín dedicated his goal. “He is very sensitive and not being able to play against Atlético has affected him a lot”explained Xavi.
If there is someone who did not want Joao, it was the Barça coach, who even denied it in public while highlighting another list of wishes that were never fulfilled and which included names like Kimmich’s. But Deco, sports director, and above all Laporta, in love with the Portuguese, gave the ‘ok’ to the operation. Although it was initially leaked that he would earn the ridiculous figure of 400,000 euros, Catalunya Ràdio revealed that his salary was four million.
Extension of a loan, Barça’s option
Xavi will not be there next season. Because nothing has changed, according to him, since on January 27 he announced that he would not continue beyond June. Joao Félix will only do so with an extended loan, which is the formula that he can and wants to afford. Barça for a talented, but inconsistent footballer. Sometimes it seems like he doesn’t like his work. One of your players who could have been dedicated to another task working on accessory skills.
However, this image conflicts with that of a human being who is motivated by risk. The stateless person that Simeone does not want to talk about and considers him a strange element, even on days when he cannot find a suitable outfit in his wardrobe. Joao did not return home this Sunday, because for him to come home someone would have to open the door for him. and right now, despite having a contract until 2029, no one recognizes him as one of their own.
The FC Barcelona player on loan at Atlético is like John I of England, who lost the Duchy of Normandy and much of Aquitaine to Philip II of France in one of the greatest collapses of the Middle Ages. His father, Enrique II, nicknamed him ‘Juan Sin Tierra’ due to the lack of assets to inherit. Joao Félix is the same. On an island in the middle of an ocean from which from time to time he leaves to hunt for a goal with reminding the world that it is as good as they imagine. Even if it’s only for just 90 minutes.
2024-03-18 07:19:53
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