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Atletico Madrid make massive bid for Benfica’s Joao Felix

By Ernesto Hernandez

According to the Portuguese and Spanish press, Atletico Madrid has anticipated all the competition and will pay 120 million to Benfica to have the Portuguese forward Joao Felix in the Spanish capital as the club's new headliner, in Madrid, Spain on June 18, 2019. Manchester City, of Pep Guardiola, was the other club that was in the race for the Portuguese international. This will be the biggest transfer of Portuguese football. (File Image) (Photo by Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
According to the Portuguese and Spanish press, Atletico Madrid has anticipated all the competition and will pay 120 million to Benfica to have the Portuguese forward Joao Felix in the Spanish capital as the club's new headliner, in Madrid, Spain on June 18, 2019. Manchester City, of Pep Guardiola, was the other club that was in the race for the Portuguese international. This will be the biggest transfer of Portuguese football. (File Image) (Photo by Pedro Fiúza/NurPhoto via Getty Images) /
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Benfica confirm that Atletico Madrid made a substantial bid for Joao Felix.

With Luka Jovic going off the board early and signed by Real Madrid, Joao Felix quickly became the most sought-after talent in European soccer. With Antoine Griezmann announcing his departure from the club, Atletico Madrid know that they have a huge hole to fill and they’ve identified Felix as the one to fill it.

Via a press release, his current side, Benfica, not only confirmed that Atletico Madrid are interested in their player, but they also diverged the amount of money the Spanish side are willing to splash. According to Benfica, Atletico Madrid are willing to spend upwards of €126 million to acquire his services. However, there is a catch.

Atletico are willing to pay that amount if they can pay it in installments. Benfica have made the bid public but have only mentioned that they are considering the bid.

Marca reports that if a deal is reached. Joao Felix would become the fourth highest paid player in terms of transfer fee. He would only be surpassed by Neymar, Mbappe, and Phillippe Coutinho.

Regardless to say, this is quite a gamble for Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone.

With Griezmann leaving, the club knows that they will receive a substantial influx of cash when he’s sold but they also know that they need someone to replace. Whether Felix is the right player to fill that role can only be found out if he is signed.

It is a risky move because in recent history, Atletico have struck out with some of their offensive signings. Recall last season when they signed Thomas Lemar and Gelson Martins. The former never really settled into the team and the latter was loaned out, then sold, to Monaco.

Griezmann fit in very well under Simeone. Not only did he score goals and prove to be a headache for defenders, he also tracked back and helped out tremendously on defense. Some of their recent signings, like Martins, has mentioned that they did not like nor fit in to that type of football.

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At 19, perhaps the club think Felix can be molded to provide them what Griezmann did. To try to keep up with Barcelona and Real Madrid, signing the Portuguese star is a risk Atletico are willing to take.

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