Joao Felix: the boy with magic in his boots. That is how he is remembered at Benfica, the club at which his precocious talent was honed and savoured.
It was Felix – then still in braces – who helped the Portuguese giants win the Primeira Liga title in 2019. And it was also Felix who earned Benfica a monstrous €126million transfer windfall two months later. Atletico Madrid were the club to invest that fee in the young forward. It has yet to be repaid.
Perhaps it never can be. Felix wasn't a fully-formed star when he arrived in the Spanish capital but was expected to fill the hole left by Antoine Griezmann. It was too much to place upon the shoulders of a 19-year-old, especially one whose inventive style has always been at odds with the attritional tactical approach of Diego Simeone.
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Now at Chelsea – at least until the summer – the hope is Felix can be set free and reignite the Blues' faltering season. His debut against Fulham, until his 58th-minute red card, was hugely encouraging and Graham Potter is a coach who wants players to express themselves, to show off their repertoire of skills.
The Portugal international has rarely needed encouragement to do so, as Rodrigo Magalhães, academy technical coordinator at Benfica, recalls. “I’ve known Joao since he was six years old; I was one of his first coaches in his hometown of Viseu," he tells football.london.
“He is, like Bernardo Silva, different from others. The way he thinks and understands the game is different – and we sometimes said we didn’t know where his body ended and the ball started! When you have a player with high-level technique, that understands the game, executes things like no other, and has magic in his boots, it is special."
Felix started his career playing for Os Pestinhas in Viseu. Given his innate ability, it wasn't long until Portugal's most powerful clubs made approaches. He settled upon Porto, joining the club at eight. Four years later and he moved out of his parent's home to be closer to the club's youth facilities.
It wasn't an easy transition but Felix impressed his various coaches at Porto and was selected alongside two of his teammates to receive specialist coaching from Pep Lijnders, who is now assistant to Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool. However, Felix's game time began to dwindle as he progressed through the age groups and he opted to leave Porto, who had concerns about his slight frame, in 2015.
“Until under-14, Joao was an amazing player but at 14, 15 and 16 years old, his physical development slowed down," explains Magalhães. "So it wasn’t as easy. When he came to Benfica at under-17, he asked if I believed in him because he hadn’t had success in the last seasons.
"There was no agent, no sponsor, no appearances in the youth teams for Portugal, so I felt even Joao started to believe less in his capacity. But we had good coaches and an environment at Benfica that got him to the top again. He played like a winger, a number ten, a striker and his decision-making was incredible. He was such an impressive player."
Felix was promoted to the Benfica senior side ahead of the 2018/19 campaign; he went on to score twenty times and guide the Eagles to the title. His maturity on the pitch stood out alongside his array of talents, something which Magalhães admits is worked upon in the Benfica academy.
“When we look at a player, there’s the tactical and technical part but also the psychological and the personality," he says. “We try to develop with other departments the personality of our players. They need a high level of mental strength to handle the pressure of everything around them: agents, management, and things outside of football.
"At 18 years old a player can look over their shoulder and see their best friend is going out, drinking beers, and going to bed at 4am. But the player has to say no, understand the need to rest, sleep eight hours, to stay on the nutritional plan. That can be really difficult.
"We have departments that prepare the players to fight against bad opportunities that people can give them – and for a talented player there are always people knocking on the door.”
There are few clubs in the European game that have given homegrown players a platform to succeed and earn moves elsewhere. Man City have benefitted through the talents of Ederson, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo, and Bernardo Silva. Victor Lindelof is at Manchester United. Jose Sa and Goncalo Guedes are owned by Wolves. And Watford borrowed Henrique Araujo in January.
The next chapter for Felix is also in England, although it may yet prove a short one. His loan with Chelsea lasts until the end of the campaign and there is no option for the Blues to make the deal permanent.
It's believed Atletico could be coaxed into selling Felix in the summer – and for far less than the €126m they paid back in 2019. Yet their stance may depend on the future of head coach Simeone, whose relationship with the Portuguese star has long been tense.
"For a while it worked ok between Felix and Simeone but it was obvious they were both straining against their natural instincts to make it work," explains Tom Allnutt, who spent five years covering Spanish football and now works for The Times. "Simeone was at the limit of what he could tolerate and Felix would probably say the same in terms of what he was willing to compromise.
"There was never a problem with him as a professional and he never showed a part of his character a coach wouldn’t like. In a way, it would’ve been understandable if he given that pressure and playing under a coach he doesn’t necessarily agree with tactically. So I think the fact there was very little of his professionalism being questioned spoke volumes in itself."
Felix is understood to have settled very quickly at Chelsea and has impressed his teammates in training at Cobham. He is expected to return to the starting XI against West Ham United on Saturday having served his three-game suspension and will have a point to prove.
And that may ensure Chelsea enjoy the very best version of the 23-year-old. "Simeone previously said he thought Felix was at his best when he had a bit of anger in him, when he was trying to prove something or someone wrong," explains Allnutt. "When he first arrived at Atletico you could tell he was keen to show how good he was and I think the Premier League style will suit him.
"It’s quick transitions, end-to-end, more space. La Liga is a bit slower, more controlled, teams get behind the ball quicker. I certainly think he’ll enjoy the space. The doubt I have is he’s coming into a team that isn’t in its best place and that can be difficult, especially coming in mid-season. But I think he will be keen to show Atletico and Simeone that they were wrong.”
And if Felix does, then it won't only be those at Benfica who speak enthusiastically about the player with magic in his boots.
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