On June 15th, we carried a report from AS, who explained Joao Felix had his ‘suitcases ready’ to travel to Madrid, if Atletico Madrid managed to beat Manchester City for his signing.
The 19-year-old has a release clause of €120m in his contract and yesterday’s report stated both Diego Simeone’s side and City were in the race for his signature.
Today’s edition of the same newspaper now claims Los Rojiblancos are set to ‘break the bank’ to bring the Portugal international to Wanda Metropolitano. There’s consensus across the Spanish and Portuguese media that the move is only an announcement away.
Atletico were better positioned than Pep Guardiola’s side in the race for the forward and even though the English champions continued to chase the player on Monday, he has been seduced by the idea of playing for the Spanish capital club.
The teenager is in Madrid along with his representative Jorge Mendes to negotiate with the top management of Atletico, they were caught on camera last night going into the same restaurant.
Even after learning the player had travelled to Madrid, Manchester City, in a last ditch effort, told Benfica about their ‘intention’ to pay his release clause and allow him to spend next season on loan with them.
However, it’s said Felix feels he has more guarantees that he can be a decisive player with the La Liga side than at the Etihad.
Of course, for the Spanish media, Atletico beating City is a nice story.
Guardiola can get his own back by snatching Rodri, with the Spanish consensus today being that the midfielder will likely move to the Premier League champions soon.
Mundo Deportivo report the player’s destination ‘will be Manchester City’.
