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The devilish showcase of João Félix

2023-04-12T10:43:15.009Z


The Portuguese, on loan from Atlético to Chelsea, faces the tie with Real Madrid under pressure to revalue himself


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Since Atlético de Madrid paid 126 million euros to Benfica for his transfer in the summer of 2018, João Félix lived with the pressure of justifying his price.

Loaned to Chelsea from January until the end of the season because his coexistence with Diego Pablo Simeone was already impossible, the Portuguese attacker now coexists with the urgency of showing Todd Boehly, powerful American banker and owner of the English team, that it is worth paying the 100 million euros that the rojiblanca entity would accept for his transfer.

Under these conditions, tonight's game brings together all the burden that hangs over the future of investment and the riskiest sports bet undertaken by Atlético throughout its history.

The Bernabéu and the tie as a whole have become a devilish showcase for João Félix.

Conquering the Champions League is the only way for Chelsea to participate in the next edition and part of that responsibility also falls on him.

More information

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The future of João Félix will be decided in the coming weeks, but it has already come to the attention of the rojiblanca leadership that he would prefer not to return at the end of his assignment.

They also claim to know that he is happy in his new habitat, although he has not exploded, nor is Chelsea right now a nice club to try to revalue and straighten out his career.

The messages exchanged from a distance between the footballer and Simeone have not helped to pave the way for a hypothetical return.

João Félix has stated that he feels more free within a more offensive proposal.

Coinciding with his departure, Simeone has propagated that Atlético now plays more as a team.

In the dressing room, for their part, they claim to live calmer without the internal tensions and external noise generated by the Portuguese's substitutions.

Given the unsustainability of the relationship between the player and the coach, Atlético was already willing to give way to a transfer in the winter market that could not materialize.

The club's top shareholder and great supporter of João Félix, Miguel Ángel Gil Marín, accepted the transfer as a lesser evil.

However, the intention of the club was not to prolong it, something to which it would now be willing if Chelsea could not undertake the hiring of him next summer because financial control prevented it.

The case of Morata, who played two years on loan at Juventus in Turin, is now set as an example in the Atlético offices.

In this possible extension of the loan for one more year, the continuity or not of Simeone also comes into play, whose contract ends in June 2024.

Two goals in 12 games

Uncertainty has led João Félix not to put his house located in the luxurious La Finca urbanization up for sale, to which he has returned several times since his departure for London.

His desire and that of his representative, Jorge Mendes, is to complete the transfer this summer.

In Atlético they assure that Mendes has already set the machinery in motion, leaking that Chelsea would be willing to put together a project around the figure of the Portuguese player and that they are willing to acquire it as property.

According to sources close to the London entity, it is preparing a large selection of players that would allow it to face the operation with the money raised.

Meanwhile, the footballer lives his attempt to relaunch his career in the midst of the Chelsea sports crisis and individual numbers that are not as expected, two goals in 12 games.

His impact on the team's game under the direction of Graham Potter had had high peaks, but not the desired continuity.

João Félix has interpreted the removal of Potter and the arrival of Frank Lampard like many of his teammates.

The bonhomie with which the fired coach has managed a locker room full of stars signed with a checkbook has led to a lack of respect.

Now João Félix's fit with Lampard remains to be seen.

It cannot be ruled out that tonight at the Bernabéu the approach of the new coach is to withdraw into his own half and the opportunities to bring out his talent are scarce.

Along the way to join the team, he had begun to build interesting partnerships with Enzo Fernández and Kai Havertz.

The one formed with the German striker had been blessed by Gianfranco Zola.

“It seems that they have found an understanding and this is important.

If you want to score goals and create more chances, the connection between the attacking players has to be good", the former Italian player and one of the favorite icons of the Chelsea fans recently analyzed.

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Source: elparis

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