Joao Felix joined Atletico Madrid from Benfica in the summer of 2019 for a fee in the region of €120m. The 22-year-old Portuguese has since provided 22 goals and 12 assists in 97 appearances for the Spanish club. With Benfica he contributed 20 goals and eleven assists in just 43 appearances.
Despite the fact he’s midway through his third season at the Wanda Metropolitano he’s not yet become the protagonist that he would have hoped to have had become by now. He’s used in rotation by Diego Simeone in a forward line that also includes Luis Suarez, Angel Correa and Matheus Cunha.
Many have claimed that Felix should leave Atletico to fulfil his potential. That for a creative and fleet-footed attacking player like him it would be better to work somewhere like Manchester City, where a coach like Pep Guardiola could work with his strengths.
But Felix himself believes that he’s learned invaluable things playing under Simeone at Atletico. He believes the Argentine has given him a defensive grounding he’d be unable to find elsewhere and it will stand him in very good stead in the future.
“Here, I learned some things that are difficult to learn at other teams,” he told The Athletic. “The way we defend, we learn a lot. I think I have improved a lot in that. And also in turning with the ball and running with the ball. That’s the most important.”
Felix also revealed his ambitions for the future as well as his favoured role on the football pitch. “My best position is as a the second forward,” he said. “Playing like a number ten, with a guy in front of me. [I want to] win the Champions League, win the World Cup or the European Championship with Portugal and, of course, the Ballon d’Or. To get there I have to improve, work smart, take care of myself, take care of my body, take care of my mind and be totally focused on me.”
