Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix has appeared to hit back at Diego Simeone in training after being left on the bench for the Spanish side's goal-less draw with Club Brugge.
Felix became Atletico's club-record signing back in 2019 but has struggled to match his hefty fee with performances. While he began the season as a member of Simeone's starting line-up, in recent games the attacker has had to make do with a place as a substitute.
Matters came to a head on Wednesday night when he was not handed any minutes by Simeone, despite Atletico failing to score against the Belgian minnows. Felix threw his training bib on the floor after it became clear he would not be coming on.
He has now appeared to hit back immediately at Simeone's snub as Atletico returned to training on Thursday. As part of that session, Atletico devoted a portion to shooting practice.
Felix scored during that part of the session and put his fingers to his lips in a shushing motion, seemingly directed at Simeone. The 22-year-old attempted to provide an innocent explanation over Twitter by tagging teammate Rodrigo de Paul and writing: "@rodridepaulWhat do you have to say? You can't compete in training now."
But reports have emerged in recent days that the Portuguese international is now considering his future at the Wanda Metropolitano. Simeone did defend his decision to consign Felix to the bench, despite his side's poor result.
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"First I thought: we are going to finish the match with Cunha on the right, Joao on the left and Morata up front, but then I saw that they had the strength to come out with counterattacks," he said.
"The anxiety was generating us wanting to win the match, and wanting to attack, and I understood that the strength in the middle of the field could generate more security for us since Griezmann began to lose his energy. To attack he was fine, but to hold Axel trained.
"I think it went well from what we were looking for, which was to continue to support the team in attack, continue to have scoring chances, continue playing the game so as not to lose it and stay out of the Champions League. I made the decision in that two-way election this.
"Later, when we enter, the team competes better, but it is true that the road to the second round is costing us a lot. Now, focus on Bilbao and not to mention when we play the Champions League game at home."
Felix will hope to return to the starting line-up when Atletico travel to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Saturday. Simeone's men currently sit fourth in the Spanish top flight, six points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
While they have won five of their eight games so far, it has been a mixed start to the campaign for Atletico. They are also at real risk of failing to progress past the Champions League group stage having won just one of their four games so far in the competition.
