There are times watching Joao Felix play football that I ponder if he is a man out of time. An individual who was sucked into some vortex in the mid-’90s and thrown into an era that did not suit him.
Since his £113m departure from his boyhood club Benfica in the summer of 2019, the question of what is Joao Felix has been one of European football’s great mysteries. He certainly is technically gifted, he can dance around opponents with ease, and he can glide with the ball and make a crowd go “ooohh” and “ahhhh” but it is hard to describe him as one of the best on the continent.
His expensive loan to Chelsea was akin to a short gap year for a backpacking student looking to diversify their culture. Away from Diego Simeone’s school of hard knocks, the brief stint in west London was meant to reinvigorate Felix and prove his parent club had handled him horribly wrong.
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Whilst there have been flashes to suggest that, the severe lack of output has only added more fuel to an argument that he is an overhyped talent who is not worth investing time into. Especially if Atletico believe he is worth a similar amount to what they initially paid for him four years ago.
The reason I started with the ’90s reference was that Felix looks like a player in the wrong age of football. He is the flair number 10 that has died a slow death in the last decade. The player you are supposed to build a team around, in an age where building a team around one player is frowned upon by the biggest clubs.
Felix probably would have soared in the era of Juninho, Gianfranco Zola, David Ginola, Eric Cantona and Denis Berkgamp. An age when individual talent was indulged over minute tactical detail. Though comparing Felix to some of these greats may seem kind, there is no denying he has significant talent, it is how to best utilise it that has proven tricky so far.
Today, off-the-ball work at the elite level is of great value and if you are not providing it, you soon find yourself in a limited space. It is not only that Felix represents a profile of player who is not as prevalent in the best teams, his own performances simply do not merit such outstanding hype.
A mere two goals for Chelsea since his arrival in January is a statistic which does not catch the eye, and neither does his impact on an attack which has increasingly got worse this season. All social media compilations of his displays will highlight the nice showboating - they conveniently cut out the parts when Felix misplaces an important pass, loses the ball or blazes an effort over the bar.
The prioritisation of aesthetics coming above actual effectiveness feels like a social media phenomenon. This is why Felix is so beloved because he provides people with nice 10-second clips. He is the ultimate short-attention-span player.
Felix is one of a few theory players, ones who for years will take up airwaves for their brand, and how X coach must prioritise “unlocking” them, without appreciating that the player themselves bears some responsibility in proving impactful. Yes, I’m looking at you Paul Pogba.
Mesut Ozil was lambasted for his lack of impact in important games for Arsenal, even though he came close to breaking the Premier League’s assist record in 2015/16. The critique of him being all style and no substance was not entirely unfair and came to represent the soft side of Arsene Wenger’s later years in charge.
Top teams cannot afford to carry passengers. Look at Cristiano Ronaldo’s failings and eventual dismissal at Manchester United, or the constant stumbles of PSG despite boasting a frontline of Kylian Mbappe, Lionel Messi and Neymar. Individually in these cases we are at times speaking about extraordinary talent, but the reality that even that dream team cannot ensure you European glory reflects a wider phenomenon.
The issue for Felix is that he is not even on that level of player. He does not boast a level of output that could justify such compromise. And even if Felix technically might be pleasing to the eye, if the end product is no more impactful, does it really matter?
Simeone is blasted for his defensive approach, which has apparently limited Felix’s development, but it was no secret what the Portuguese international was signing up for when he agreed to join Atletico years ago. You did not need to be a La Liga expert or a season ticket holder at the Wanda Metropolitano to identify the team’s tactical identity.
At some point, players like Felix need to prove their overwhelming talent is capable of fitting into a more structured way of playing rather than needing an exhaustive list of demands and perfect conditions for them to excel. Bending to the demands of the individual is not how a smart club should be run, particularly if that player is not proving effective.
The death of the luxury player probably happened long ago, it is just that the echoes of that past look further lost in an age that does not suit them.
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