Joao Felix: Why Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid let forward join Chelsea

Joao Felix and Diego Pablo Simeone person 2 antithetic ways of knowing the game. They besides travel from 2 generations that attack beingness precise differently.

Atletico believed paying Benfica 127 cardinal euros (£113m) three-and-a-half years agone for the 19-year-old would beryllium dependable business.

The Portuguese guardant was the biggest concern successful the Spanish club's past - a dependable concern aft showing disconnected his endowment and idiosyncratic who would assistance Atletico spell far.

But things did not enactment retired arsenic planned. What happened?

• Felix signs for Chelsea connected indebtedness from Atletico Madrid

Atletico made Felix the 5th astir costly subordinate successful past erstwhile they paid Benfica £113m for the past 19-year-old successful 2019.

When it each started to interruption up

Simeone ever thought that the terms tag would enactment against the subordinate - expectations would beryllium excessively precocious for idiosyncratic who had lone played six months of top-flight football.

His cause Jorge Mendes and Miguel Angel Gil Marin, the main enforcement of Atletico, were warned that Argentine manager Simeone was not the perfect antheral to look aft the promising footballer.

Simeone has a wide conscience - helium utilized Felix erstwhile the subordinate was giving him what the manager wanted. Felix thinks Simeone sent him to the seat each clip his signifier dipped a small bit.

During the 134 games that Felix was disposable for the team, during which clip helium scored 33 times, his biggest contributions were the archetypal 3 months of the play Atletico became champions, successful 2020-21. But since past things person not gone smoothly and the definitive play that broke the narration was past autumn.

In mid-September, Atletico mislaid the Madrid derby astatine home. The league rubric was becoming an impossibility adjacent astatine that aboriginal signifier successful the season. Simeone did not bask the cognition of his subordinate with and without the ball.

Felix stopped being a regular successful the line-up having started successful 7 of the archetypal 8 games of the season. Soon aft the game, Felix asked some his cause and Gil Marin to permission successful January.

In an interrogation with the YouTuber Adri Contreras astir that time, asked who helium thought the champion manager was, Felix answered: "Pass".

Having not started against Sevilla oregon Club Bruges, and intelligibly publically shown his discontent with the situation, Simeone took vantage of the 2 goals scored by guardant Angel Correa against Girona to say: "When Correa is upset, helium shows it connected the pitch."

In the instrumentality crippled against Bruges, having warmed up for fractional an hr and being asked doubly to beryllium prepared to travel connected but yet not taking portion successful the game, Felix threw his bib to the floor. Soon aft Simeone said: "While I americium here, decisions are based connected performances. Joao played each clip helium was successful a bully condition."

Felix was connected the seat for the eighth consecutive lucifer successful the important Champions League brushwood against Bayer Leverkusen successful which Atletico were knocked out.

By past the narration betwixt subordinate and manager had reached a nadir.

Why doesn't Simeone spot Joao Felix?

When the Portugal planetary arrived, having made his sanction arsenic a 2nd forward, Simeone planned his accustomed obstacle people to get him up to day with each the obligations an Atletico subordinate should have, mostly without the ball.

The player, to his dismay, was utilized connected the close helping and often distant from the rival box. Gil Marin asked his manager to determination Felix person to the container and the manager, a nine man, did arsenic was suggested. However, that determination caused Simeone's narration with the main enforcement to deteriorate.

Felix has played a afloat 90 minutes conscionable 24 times from his 134 Atletico games (84 starts) and his statistic are not satellite class.

As good arsenic his 33 goals, helium has 16 assists. His extremity averages successful La Liga and Europe are akin - 0.25 and 0.26 per crippled - and determination is intelligibly country for improvement.

Beyond the numbers, Simeone has felt the subordinate did not person the close cognition connected galore occasions, that helium has looked excessively often for the idiosyncratic summation and has not sacrificed himself capable defensively. The manager does not deliberation the Portuguese guardant is arsenic bully arsenic radical deliberation and that the lone superstar helium has successful the squad is France's Antoine Griezmann.

This twelvemonth started with the manager announcing that the squad would beryllium "Joao Felix and 10 more", but Simeone did not enactment immoderate obstacles to his departure. He present knows helium does not privation him back.

How is the nine reacting to it all?

Gil Marin has tried each imaginable ways to code the concern to debar having to take betwixt manager and player.

"He has had occupation adapting," helium said a fewer months back. "It is down to Simeone to find his close version."

But, successful December, Gil opened the doorway to a merchantability erstwhile helium admitted: "If a bully connection arrives, we person to see it. The narration betwixt the manager and the subordinate is not the best. I privation him to enactment but the subordinate thinks differently."

Nobody was consenting to wage the £100 positive cardinal Atletico want, truthful a indebtedness became a existent possibility. Gil Marin demanded that Felix widen his declaration by 1 twelvemonth till 2027, arsenic helium wants to person power implicit his future.

Gil Marin says Simeone volition permission the nine whenever helium decides to. It is simply a falsehood that the Argentine has asked to leave, but the nine would not beryllium terribly disappointed if helium did and Luis Enrique would much than apt beryllium his successor. It is besides thought that Felix volition radiance nether the ex-Barcelona and Spain manager.

The nine considers that, since winning the league successful 2020-21 and contempt achieving the people of playing yearly successful the Champions League implicit a decade, the squad has not truly fulfilled his potential, specially successful Europe.

A batch has to bash with managerial decisions.

If adjacent play the squad is not successful the main continental competition, they tin get Simeone retired by paying little than the 23 cardinal euros per twelvemonth (£20.4m) helium earns.

But each clip Gil Marin thinks astir that possibility, helium reaches the aforesaid decision - a fable similar Simeone, contempt a large percent of fans doubting him, has won the close to determine his ain future.

Is Chelsea a bully spot for Joao Felix to shine?

Felix helped Portugal scope the quarter-finals astatine the 2022 World Cup

The Portuguese subordinate had a bully World Cup. After his show against Ghana, Simeone said helium enjoyed the show of his player, but added: "It is an perfect abbreviated tourney for him, not galore games, wherever you spot the quality and pace, and autumn successful emotion with players similar him".

Felix felt it was a dig, and it was. "Portugal's mode of playing is wholly antithetic to Atletico's," helium said portion successful Doha.

Upon his return, helium was not added to the squad successful 2 Copa del Rey games due to the fact that of tonsillitis. Eventually Chelsea accepted to wage 11 cardinal euros for the indebtedness arsenic good arsenic paying his wages for the remainder of the season. The woody does not person an option-to-buy clause.

It is simply a risky determination by Felix to articulation a squad that is successful a hard situation. But Chelsea are the lone apical nine who request a subordinate similar him and helium tin play regularly. Also manager Graham Potter likes and uses players similar him, though it volition not beryllium casual to find him the perfect presumption successful the saltation of systems helium utilises.

The uncertainty is besides whether helium tin accommodate rapidly capable to the precocious tempo of the Premier League.

One happening works successful his favour, if you travel Simeone's reasoning - Chelsea are inactive live successful the Champions league, different "short" competition.