In July 2019, Atlético Madrid made a big splash by recruiting for €127.20 million one of the great hopes of European football of his generation: Joao Félix. Five years later, the Portuguese striker definitively left the Colchoneros to join Chelsea at the end of the summer of 2024.
After four mixed seasons in the Madrid jersey, punctuated by a six-month loan to the Blues during the 2022-2023 season, followed by a second one-year loan to FC Barcelona, the enigma surrounding Félix’s move to Atlético remains for many observers. This is the case of Rui Vitória, his former coach at Benfica.
“It can’t always be other people’s fault”
The Portuguese technician also wonders about the reasons which prevented Félix from flourishing with the Rojiblancos “It’s hard to know (why it didn’t work). Maybe it’s because of the culture of the club. Atlético is a team that runs, works a lot and plays low. Being far from the opponent’s area may be one of the problems. But I don’t know what happened to the player and in his personal life, nor what would have happened if he had had another coach,”
he confided.
Benevolent in his analysis, Rui Vitória nevertheless invited Félix to engage in introspection. “A professional player must take a critical look at his abilities and his attitude, it cannot always be the fault of others. At Barcelona and Chelsea, he played in contexts more favorable to his characteristics. There must be things we don’t know about.”he said.
