Premier League clubs are fighting over Felix. But the price for a guest appearance is absurd

João Félix is looking for a way out. From Atlético Madrid, where his potential has stalled and where his great talent and skill is being overwhelmed by the defensive style of the Colchoneros. The fight for him is now being fought for by Premier League clubs, but the price of hosting him is absurd.

The Portuguese star shot sky high at Benfica, where he shone so much that Atlético Madrid paid €127 million for Félix. But he has never lived up to the potential the Rojiblancos bought him with.

Atlético’s style of play, which does not suit the technical footballer at all, has a lot to do with it. The 23-year-old striker needs to keep the ball on the ball, get into dangerous situations, invent at the opponent’s penalty area. Just defending in the block for most of the game and then sprinting and relying on breakaways is not Félix’s style.

Moreover, his defensive work is pretty poor, so he dropped out of the starting lineup altogether, which he took quite badly. There was even a heated argument with coach Diego Simeon, after which Félix was supposed to decide to leave Civítas Metropolitano.

He attracted his suitors at the World Cup in Qatar, where he was one of Portugal’s best players and showed that when his feet aren’t tied by defending, he’s a fantastic footballer. As a result, Félix now has three offers lying at his feet from the Premier League, namely Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea.

The problem, however, is that Atlético don’t want to sell their gem and are only willing to provide Félix on loan. And the price is absurd.

In fact, the Colchoneros are demanding €15 million for the hosting fee, plus Félix’s entire salary, which amounts to €6 million. A new bidder would thus have to pay 21 million euros for a player who will be at his disposal for five months and then return to Madrid for free. And that is a truly absurd sum.

No wonder neither Manchester United nor Arsenal are willing to pay this amount to Atlético yet. This is despite the fact that they are very interested in the Viseu native.

So both clubs will wait and hope that Atlético will lower their demands as time goes on. The ball is in their court, as Félix wants to leave and having a disgruntled star in the squad does no good.

Source: David Ornstein, The Athletic