Jorge Mendes has already held talks with Premier League leaders Arsenal as he looks to find a new club for Atletico Madrid’s La Liga misfit Joao Felix during the January transfer window, according to Corriere dello Sport.
If you thought you were busy this Christmas, spare a thought for Jorge Mendes.
Not only does the Portuguese super-agent have the whole Cristiano Ronaldo situation to deal with, he also finds himself at the heart of discussions surrounding the likes of Ruben Neves, Diogo Costa, Marco Asensio, Alejandro Balde and, to top it all off, the fourth-most expensive player in the history of the game.
Joao Felix and Diego Simeone always felt like a rather odd marriage. A free-wheeling free-spirt and one of the most pragmatic managers of the modern era shacking up together and trying to make it work. Football’s very own ‘Odd Couple’.
Joao Felix’s agent holds talks with Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich
Atletico CEO Miguel Angel Gil has already admitted that this rather unhappy marriage looks set to end in divorce; Felix in Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid feeling almost like that infamous Al Pacino cameo in Adam Sandler’s 2011 ‘comedy’ Jack and Jill. Rarely has one footballer looked so out-of-place.
“Buying him was the biggest bet the club has made in its history,” Gil tells TVE of Atletico’s £113 million record signing.
“I think he is a top, world-class player. But because of the relationship with the coach, his playing time, his motivation… it’d be reasonable to analyse an option for him to depart if one arrives.
“It’s reasonable to think that he might leave. I’d love him to stay. But that’s not the player’s plan.”
Mendes, Corriere dello Sport say, is already in negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Arsenal.
Atletico Madrid want around £85 million
Fabrizio Romano believes the 2021 La Liga champion are hoping to recoup around £85 million of that record-breaking investment. So Arsenal may have to make a tough decision between Felix and their other top target; Shakhtar Donetsk flyer Mykhaylo Mudryk.
According to Gianluca di Marzio, the former Benfica wonderkid would prefer to join PSG in any rate. Les Parisiens may be forced into the market for attacking reinforcements; both Lionel Messi and World Cup winner Lionel Messi facing uncertain futures at the Parc des Princes.
Felix put his Atletico problems behind him at the Qatar World Cup; producing a handful of dazzling performances for a Portugal side who bowed out in the quarter-finals. Felix scored against Ghana, and set up two more goals in that 6-1 obliteration of Switzerland.
“The truth is that Joao has a special talent,” Atletico team-mate Alvaro Morata says. “That final pass…”
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