Joao Felix is set to become the most expensive signing in Atletico Madrid’s history but it’s not always been plain-sailing for the 19-year old sensation.
Born in Viseu in central Portugal, Felix was in the famed Porto academy for seven years but did not make the grade at the Dragons.
As per Forbes, he was released at the age of 15 for having a ‘slight frame’ – easily the most common reasoning academies come up with – and the rejection will no doubt have been tough for him.
João Félix was released from Porto as they believed he was too skinny to develop further.
In his first full season with Benfica, he scored 15 goals, provided seven assists and won the title. 😎 pic.twitter.com/gVakTYjDvn
— Squawka (@Squawka) June 11, 2019
But Porto’s loss was Benfica’s gain as the Lisbon outfit picked him up in 2015. After excelling for the youth team and B side, Felix, now standing at 5’11 and with 15 goals last term, is one of the most exciting youngsters in world football and is destined to achieve great things.
Last night Benfica released an official statement announcing they have received a €126 million offer from Atléti for their prize asset.
Félix, who recently made his Portugal debut, has a €120 million release clause but the above offer is divided in installments and therefore doesn’t trigger the clause, according to reports.
Porto were able to insert a sell-on clause when they offloaded him but it is absolute peanuts compared to what they could have got for him if they had stuck by him.
According to AS, Felix is poised to have a release clause of €350 million written into his contract in the Spanish capital, outlining just how highly Diego Simeone and Atletico figures value him.
If the mega move does go ahead as expected, Felix will no doubt attract even more attention – not just from football fans but from women. Although to be fair, he’s already had quite a bit.
“The success helped me a lot with the girls,” Felix said, as per Calciomercato.
“On social media they often send me photos, even naked. I don’t think of finding a girlfriend, I’m still young. There is time for everything.”
Something tells us Porto might just end up regretting their decision to release him when they had him on their books.
Joao Felix joined Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid during the January transfer window and has already shown some promising signs of what he can offer the Blues, with his individual skill and link-up play causing defences plenty of problems so far,
