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The transfer window is has become increasingly inflated in recent years, with average top-flight players commanding huge fees that clubs in Europe have been more than willing to match.
In essence, European giants have muddied the waters – their state-owned or hedge-funded megabucks just a drop in the water for eyewatering deals. Bargains or shrewd business, it seems, is a thing of the past. That is, until now.
For Benfica, the transfer window usually involves selling their best talent and replacing them with younger, brighter stars. In recent years, the Portuguese giants have sold the likes of Goncalo Ramos, Enzo Fernandez, Darwin Nunez, Ruben Dias and Ederson, all for huge sums, and the list, in all honesty, is pretty inexhaustable.
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One sale from the past decade stands out above all others, though, and that is Joao Felix. Sold to Atletico Madrid in 2019 as a 19-year-old for £113m – the fourth highest transfer fee in history at the time – Felix was tipped to become one of the best players in Europe, not least because he had just picked up the Golden Boy award, too.
Things, however, haven’t exactly gone to plan for the Portuguese forward since his big-money switch to the Spanish captial. While he helped Atletico win La Liga in 2020/21, he has failed to even hit double figures in a season in Spain’s top flight.
A deterioration in his relationship with manager Diego Simeone then saw Felix move to Chelsea on loan for the second half of the 2022/23 season, before he spent the entirety of the 2023/24 campaign at Barcelona. He did sign a contract extension with Atletico to keep him at the club until 2029, though only in order to restructure his wages so that they complied with Barcelona’s financs for the La Liga salary cap.
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Indeed, it seems Felix’s long-term future lies away from the Metropolitano Stadium, with Benfica set to take advantage of situation by bringing back the once-bright talent for a just a fraction of what they sold him for.
According to Spanish outlet Sport, Benfica have offered Atletico £12.7m to re-sign Felix – just under 10 per cent of the original transfer fee. The report does suggest that the Spanish side are looking to hold out for around £21m for the 24-year-old, but with no other offers forthcoming this transfer window and considering his non-existent relationship with Simeone, a deal could still be possible.
One key aspect of the deal, however, is that Atletico would retain 50 per cent of the player’s rights. This would mean they’re entitled to half of any fee if Felix is sold in the future.
While this seems unlikely, in FourFourTwo‘s opinion this could be one of the greatest bits of business ever concluded in the transfer market. Felix is clearly still a very talented player who has plenty of time on his side to regain his form and develop into a top player on the continent, which will not only benefit the player but also the club as well. If this comes to fruition, we’ll be watching on with eager eyes at what the forward could produce back in his homecountry.
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