Manchester City twice turned down the chance to sign Joao Felix this summer, after being offered him by Jorge Mendes.
That’s according to La Razon, who say there was confusion amid the player’s entourage after Pep Guardiola had publicly praised the Portuguese forward in the past.
Last week we covered a report that stated Manchester City and Manchester United had turned down Felix in the summer, before his eventual loan move to Barcelona.
La Razon follow that up and explain that Mendes ‘offered him to Guardiola’ as United weren’t keen and a return to Benfica wasn’t financially viable.
Manchester City’s coach ‘did not show any interest’ in a potential deal, though, a position that surprised people close to the player as Guardiola had already stated on more than one occasion that Felix was a “great footballer”.
There was also a feeling that their style of player was ‘perfectly adapted’ to the forward’s qualities and he could be a hit at the Etihad.
Guardiola’s ‘closest entourage’ made it clear to him that Felix wanted to make a great financial effort to secure the move, but this wasn’t enough to convince him or Manchester City.
They didn’t provide any reason for their rejection; it was a simple case of being uninterested and thus Guardiola and his team didn’t spend any time contemplating or studying the option.
That remained the case despite a subsequent injury to Kevin De Bruyne, when Mendes offered his client once again and was met with the same answer.
He eventually ended up at Barcelona, where he had insisted he had always wanted to be and everyone is now happy, at least until next summer when that loan deal comes to an end and the circus undoubtedly starts up again.
