This time, we can say, nothing is going well between João Félix and Diego Simeone. We knew the complicated relationship between the two men but the case took another turn yesterday with the press conference of the Argentine coach. Probably still upset by the defeat of his team against Barça last weekend (4-2), the Cholo did not hesitate to criticize the young Portuguese in public. “João Félix says there is a problem at Atlético? Go ask him directly. If he knows what our problem is right now, it would be good if he said so that we know too.
Diego Simeone looked like he was having a bad day at a press conference, on the eve of the reception of Getafe, this Saturday (9 p.m., 24th day of La Liga) It must be said that he did not really appreciate the media outlet at The Athletic in the attacking midfielder’s week. “We know what’s going on, but I’d rather not talk about it.” Words that went wrong, especially since the Colchoneros are in trouble at the moment with only one victory in the last five matches in all competitions. 5th in the standings, they were even overtaken by Barça in La Liga.
Simeone no longer believes in him, the opposite is mutual
Simeone’s reproaches did not stop there. “No, he did not disappoint me at Nou Camp”, replies the Argentinian who had established the Portuguese international (20 caps, 3 goals) before leaving him in the 56th minute. Later in this same press conference, he made new, much more tendentious statements. “It’s like when a player leaves, sometimes he gets annoyed with himself and other times with the coach.” We suspected it but this time the discomfort is public. The two men are in open conflict and it’s even been a while if we are to believe the press on the spot.
Already this winter, there had been talk of a departure from the former pearl of Benfica. “João Félix wants to leave and the Cholo wants him to leave”explained the journalist of AS Javier Matallanas at the end of January. Even the player’s agent, a certain Jorge Mendes, had put his two cents in there a few days before, saying that he should have signed for Manchester City. We are inevitably heading towards a sad end to the story between the two. Recruited for € 126 million in the summer of 2019, João Félix is currently Diego Simeone’s biggest failure in more than ten years of presence in Madrid.
