Manchester United have had a nightmarish start to their season. United have lost two of their two Premier League matches so far. The losses have come from the hands of relatively smaller teams like Brighton and Brentford. Now, Manchester United are looking to bolster their attacking options to remain competitive in the league. As such, United have made a bid for Atletico Madrid youngster Joao Felix over the uncertainty of the future of Cristiano Ronaldo at Old Trafford.
According to Spanish outlet AS, United have made a bid of over €130m (£110m) for Atletico’s star youngster Joao Felix. This bid was promptly rejected by Atletico Madrid who have no intention of selling the player. Moreover, Atletico will sell the player only if his release clause is paid. The release clause for Joao’s departure is a staggering sum of €350m (£295.7m). AS has also claimed that the Portuguese wonderkid is an important player for Atletico and coach Diego Simeone.
There were multiple reasons for Atletico to not let Joao leave. First and foremost is that they do not want to upset their supporters by selling a star player. Moreover, the fee of £110m would mean that they make a profit of just £3 million on the sale. Moreover, Atletico still owes €64m to Benfica for the purchase of Felix. After the deduction of depreciations, Atletico would make a sum that would amount to only €66 million in real terms.
Felix desperate to repay the trust of Atletico
Felix joined Atletico Madrid for a record-breaking fee of £114m from Benfica. Joao Felix has scored 29 goals and has provided 18 assists in 112 appearances for Atletico across all competitions. However, the forward is yet to live up to his price tag having played only 13 La Liga games due to an injury. Now, Felix is desperate to prove his worth and repay the faith that Atletico has shown him.
“The other years I always tried to be better. If this is my year, I don’t know. It depends, we don’t know about the future….. But what I can assure you is that I am doing my best to be at the best level so that I can help the team and the club. I arrived here young, I’m still young but I’ve already grown a lot and I’m sure to grow more. And I’m fine. I’m happy. I have a calm head and when so, things go naturally and let’s hope things are good.”
Joao Felix via AS
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