After signing him on a loan at the deadline day of the last summer transfer window, FC Barcelona are already enjoying the fruits of getting Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid. Felix has shown his quality on the pitch only after a few days at the club, but getting him this summer was not an unambiguous decision at the Catalan club.
Reports during the summer transfer window showed that Xavi was not too keen to get the Portuguese forward in his team this summer. However, President Joan Laporta was enamored with the player, as he saw glimpses of Johan Cruyff in him, and it was on his insistence that Barcelona went in for the player and got him signed.
Atletico legend griefs Felix’s departure
Felix was not having the best of times at Atletico Madrid, but not everyone is happy with the way he departed from the club. For instance, as SPORT has reported, Paulo Futre, an Atletico Madrid legend, still cannot get over the fact that Felix has signed for Barcelona.
Futre appeared in an interview recently, in which he talked about his fears regarding Felix’s move to Barcelona:
“When Joao Félix said that he dreamt of playing for Barcelona, I began to live a nightmare that continues to this day. It’s terrifying to think that Barcelona could win the Champions League against Atletico thanks to a goal from Joao Felix.”
Futre finds himself in a pickle because, on the one hand, he wants Felix to succeed; on the other, he does not want his beloved Atletico to get humiliated. The former Atletico player got so disturbed by Felix’s move that he ended up confronting Jorge Mendes on the phone:
“It was the biggest argument I’ve ever had with Jorge Mendes since we’ve known each other. I told him, ‘This is your doing, Jorge… the kid would never do something like this.‘“
Futre further clarified:
“Mendes swore to me that he had nothing to do with these statements from Joao Félix. I didn’t understand how he allowed this. Joao couldn’t walk the streets because Atlético fans were increasingly hating him.”
The Atletico legend further went on to explain how the move to Barcelona in particular bothered him:
“I didn’t want Joao Félix to go to Barça for two reasons. He plays in Spain, and they’re crucifying Simeone every time he does well. I wanted him to play for any team other than Barça.”
Mendes tried to move Felix to England
Lastly, convinced of Felix’s quality, Futre revealed that Mendes had also tried to send Felix to the Premier League but could not understand why no big team other than Barcelona was willing to bet on him:
“Mendes told me he had spoken to Manchester United. I checked what he told me because I have friends there, and it was true. He had also talked to Manchester City, and I verified that they didn’t want Joao Félix either.”
“What’s not normal is that top coaches knew that Joao Félix was a genius, that he fit into their system of play, but nobody wanted him. Neither Arteta, nor Guardiola, nor Klopp, no club… My question is, why hasn’t anyone wanted Joao? The only team that wanted him was Aston Villa with Monchi and Emery.”
While Futre is decidedly agonized by Felix’s move to Barcelona, his latest comments also provide an insight on what happened with the player during the summer. Barcelona were able to get him after his relations with everyone at Atletico Madrid deteriorated, but if it was not for Barcelona, only Aston Villa would have been a viable option to keep playing at the highest level in Europe.
