João Félix returns to the Metropolitano. The biggest investment in the history of Atlético de Madrid and, probably, the great vision failure for the club. The biggest waste.
João was signed from Benfica in the 2019 summer in exchange for 127 million euros after the sale of Antoine Griezmann to FC Barcelona. He was introduced under the ‘pure talent’ motto, as a player expected to shine in the European continent with a very promising career ahead of him.
He certainly had and still has the potential quality wise for that. His main issue, as time has proven, is that talent is not everything, nor the only required condition to succeed in football. And even less in such a passional team such Atlético, run by a coach for who effort is not negotiated, which is something that João has always struggled with.
The stay of João Félix at Atlético de Madrid has been impacted by inconsistency, injuries and an everlasting and incomplete adaptation period. In the middle of that, a unique peak with the epic LaLiga title in 2021, which helped to liven up the wait for the explosion of a natural talent that still has not taken place. Neither far away from the Metropolitano.
Cholo and João, who are opposite poles, ended up crashing after the disastrous first part of the season by Atlético before the World Cup. That moment when Simeone seemed to have reached a point of no return, and that the Argentinian coached admitted himself to be his most complicated moment as Atlético’s head coach.
The patience with João Félix had run out and the Portuguese had to leave to Chelsea on loan. Just as he arrived, he did not waste time to send a message to Cholo and Atlético, by praising the offensive playing style from the ‘Blues’: “This is the football I like to play. I feel free”, he said. But the reality is that the what he felt was not reflected on the field, and so João crashed again.
In summer, he only spent time at Atlético to run up the hill at Los Ángeles de San Rafael, while he looked for another exit to escape from the program that Simeone managed to change the course of as soon as João Félix left. Casually.
In the last day of the transfer market, he ended up signing for Barça on loan in order to become free again and try to generate something different apart from problems. Just as we have already passed half way of the season, he has not pulled it off either.
At Barça, João Félix has mostly been the same inconsequential player from Atlético and Chelsea. Without the starting status and left to a secondary role in the bench, under the shadow of academy players who answer with consistency and forcefulness like Lamine Yamal and Fermín López, João is running out of time while people start thinking that Cholo might have been right.
In fact, one of the few games where João Félix has taken a step forward has been against the club that still owns him, in the game that took place in the first part of the season, when he scored the only goal. That day, he jumped on top of the fence to celebrate and take out all the resentment that he has for the first ones that believed in someone who has not proved anything at all yet, and he took the chance to claim his usefulness condition that faded away right in the next fixture.
Today, again against a Metropolitano that will welcome him in a hostile way, he will count again on that extra motivation that only Atlético are able to provide him with from a player whose growth has been stuck since he jumped into the top European elite. Maybe he might even had an outstanding performance tonight.
What is already known is that Barça will not pay for him this summer to sign him, and Jorge Mendes will have to juggle again to place a damaged product for who nobody trusts anymore, while Atlético will keep dragging a debt that will unlikely not balance.
Main image: Edit Marta Calle.
At ELXIIDEAL we have a great opportunity to advertise your business via our website and social media network.
