Atletico Madrid undoubtedly overpaid for Joao Felix but that is not his fault, though getting sent off on his Chelsea debut is…
Who’s this then?
João Félix Sequeira is a 23-year-old, 5’11” forward who was born in Viseu in Portugal and has just joined Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid.
A talent from an early age, he joined Porto’s youth ranks aged just eight and even moved away from home when he was 12 to be near the club training ground. That doesn’t sound right. You’d hope no-one is allowed to move away from home at just 12 anymore. Even though this was only 11 years ago, you’d hope there is now more awareness in football of how vulnerable a child is in that situation. Despite this move, he was let go by the club a couple of years later and he joined Benfica, now 15.
At the time, he was the youngest player to play for Benfica B. After 30 appearances he moved up to the first team in 2018. The 2018/19 season transformed him from promising youngster to in-demand star. His first goal was in the Lisbon derby, he was the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League, and he scored 20 goals in 43 appearances, helping Benfica to win the league. He also made his debut for the Portugal national team, helping them to win the Nations League.
That season across all of Europe’s biggest leagues, he ranked second among teenagers for goals and assists, behind Kai Havertz and Jadon Sancho respectively. It was a stellar campaign for him and being so young, he attracted a lot of attention from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Even so it shocked most observers when Atletico Madrid gave Beneficia 126 million Euros for the lad’s service. It was the most wonga Benfica had ever got for a player and the most Atletico had ever paid.
That is a lot of pressure to put on a young lad’s shoulders. In 2020/21 they won La Liga, in 2021/22 he won Atlético Madrid Player of the Year but ended it injured. All seemed well but there was trouble in paradise because The Man Who Only Wears Black seemed to take against him. Last season he only scored eight in the league and made four assists but he was playing well, though suffering from aggressive defender attention.
Even though this season he’d scored four and made three in 14 appearances, by December the club was saying he was a gamble that hadn’t really paid off. Simeone clearly doesn’t like him. And Felix probably doesn’t want to play in a team that is so narrow and defensive.
So with…
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