João Félix reveals dream of playing for Barcelona and causes problems at Atlético de Madrid

João Félix, a 23-year-old Portuguese striker, recently returned to Atlético Madrid after a disappointing spell at Chelsea. The player already has problems at the Spanish club due to conflicts with Argentine coach Diego Simeone, but he made his situation worse when he said in a recent interview with Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano that it would be a dream to play for Barcelona, ​​one of the rivals of Atlético de Madrid.

“Barcelona has always been my first choice, I would love to play for Barça. Since I was a child, this has always been my dream. If it happens, it will be a dream come true.”said the player.

EXCLUSIVE — João Félix statement on his future: “I’d love to play for Barça”.

“Barcelona has always been my first choice and I’d love to join Barça”.

“It was always my dream since I was a kid”.

“If it happens, it will be a dream come true for me”. pic.twitter.com/3zg9BiCDgO

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 18, 2023

_{Tweet by Fabrizio Romano about João Félix’s lines during an exclusive interview (Photo: Reproduction/Twitter/@FabrizioRomano)}

Club problems and possible transfer

According to information released by the Spanish newspaper Marca, the board of Atlético de Madrid did not like João Félix’s speeches at all. The leaders of the Spanish team found the player’s attitude unprofessional and extremely disrespectful, in addition to finding it absurd for the Portuguese to declare himself to a rival just to force his departure from the club.

Speculated at Paris Saint-Germain, the striker has a contract with Atlético de Madrid until the middle of 2027 and the club is only considering negotiating the player if a proposal close to 100 million euros arrives. If no proposals appear, João Félix will be reinstated in the team; currently, the player trains separately from the others and does not seem to be an option for coach Diego Simeone, with whom he has already had conflicts.

Joao Félix’s career

João Félix was revealed by Benfica, from Portugal. The striker made his debut for the Portuguese team in 2018 and the following season he transferred to Atlético de Madrid for €127 million, becoming the fifth most expensive transfer in football history. In January 2023, he was loaned to Chelsea, but had an extremely lackluster spell and ended up returning to Spain at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Featured Photo: João Félix during a match for Atlético de Madrid. Gabriel Bouys/AFP