Inside Spain: Behind the Joao Felix bombshell, Vinicius Junior defends Benjamin Mendy
Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.
On Tuesday night, João Felix called up Fabrizio Romano to tell him of a fairytale ending, to say that he dreamed a dream of playing for Barcelona when he was a child, and that he wanted to fulfil it now. If that wasn’t enough for Atleti fans to swallow, Felix finished his confession with ‘they have always been my first choice’.
Since, his plaque outside the Civitas Metropolitano has been desecrated, and training has been as awkward as you might imagine. Rodrigo de Paul said they would be happy to have him back this season a few months ago if it worked out that way, as did CEO Enrique Cerezo – at least publicly offering an olive branch. This week any pretence at making it work turned into exasperation.
Just as fascinating as the statement itself is the workings behind the scenes. The one club he picked (of the top teams in Europe) are precisely the one that are furthest from being able to pull off a deal. Atlético still want a team to cover the cost of Felix, wages and amortisation, even for a loan if not a transfer. Unless there is a major exit, it simply isn’t possible no matter how much some at Barcelona may admire his talent, no matter how strong their connections with agent Jorge Mendes are.
Atletico do not believe Mendes had anything do with this either – there’s surely no way such an astute operator would come out with such an obviously flawed plan, surely? They feel Felix and his father were feeling the tension. Now the story goes that Felix is willing to wait until the last minute of the transfer window to make a deal happen, even if
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