Atletico Madrid News
Atletico Madrid CEO confirms possible January exit for Joao Felix: “Not good”
Dropping a huge bombshell Atletico Madrid CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin has confirmed that the relationship between manager Diego Simeone and Joao Felix is strained and that a January exit is very much on the cards for the Portuguese international.
The 23-year-old forward is Los Rojiblancos’ record signing, with the club having spent €120 million to land him from SL Benfica in 2019 following the exit of Antoine Griezmann.
However, things have failed to work out for Felix at the Civitas Metropolitano as Simeone has failed to get the best out of him while the young forward has been unable to adapt to the Argentine tactician’s philosophies.
That their relationship has broken down has been palpable for some time now and rumours of a January exit have been doing the rounds for a while, with clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea, and Paris Saint-Germain sniffing around.
And, Gil Marin has confirmed the same, stating that the circumstances are far from ideal, but the best possible course of action for everyone involved would be an exit for the 23-year-old.
“He is the biggest bet the club has made. I think he has the highest level in the world but for reasons that are not worth going into now, the relationship between the coach and him is not good, nor is his motivation,” Gil Marin told TVE (h/t Mundo Deportivo)
“The reasonable thing is to think that he leaves, although I would love him to continue, but, this is not the player’s idea.”
Given Atletico Madrid’s financial situation, an exit makes from the club’s standpoint as well, as Felix remains one of their most marketable assets and can fetch a sizeable sum from his sale, while they would also get rid of his wages.
Gil Marin also commented on the future of manager Simeone, whose position has been called into question due to Atleti’s sub-par start to the season.
“I think the Atlético de Madrid fan has Diego in his mind. What will happen in the future, neither Diego nor us know, and I have to repeat that we have both grown a lot,” he said.
Atletico Madrid News
Atletico Madrid monitoring teenage striker with €40 million release clause – Romano
According to transfer expert Fabrizio Romano, Atletico Madrid are among the clubs monitoring the progress of UD Almeria striker Marciano Sanca.
The 19-year-old Guinea-Bissau forward joined Almeria from Portuguese outfit Leixoes in January last year, linking up with the club’s B team.
Marciano has made three league appearances Almeria’s reserve team and has not scored a goal yet. The teenager has been training with the first-team setup regularly and Romano claims that he is close to making his debut in La Liga.
While he might not have made a splash at the senior level yet, Marciano seems to be already gathering admirers with Atletico Madrid, Villarreal and Brighton & Hove Albion said to be tracking the youngster.
Los Rojiblancos are set to enter the market for a new centre-forward as Joao Felix is expected to be sold permanently while Alvaro Morata’s future is also not entirely certain.
So even though Diego Simeone has Memphis Depay, Angel Correa, and Morata at his disposal, Atletico Madrid will dive into the market for a new striker with there being links to Mateo Retegui of Boca Juniors, currently on loan at Tigre.
Now, Marciano has also emerged as a potential target or Atletico Madrid, although signing him will not be easy in the summer.
Even though the 19-year-old’s contract expires in 2024, he is bound by a release clause worth €40 million and Almeria intend to keep him at the club beyond this season.
So, the La Liga club might hold out for the entire release clause amount in order to stave off potential suitors like Atletico Madrid, who are not in a position to make such an investment on an unproven youngster.
