Manchester United would love to bolster their struggling squad with João Félix, but Atlético Madrid is not interested in selling.
A report from Goal says that Man Utd made a whopping €130 million offer for the 22-year-old Portugal attacker, and that Atlético has rejected the bid.
Félix joined Atlético in 2019 for €126 milion, signing a seven-year contract in what remains the fourth-largest transfer fee ever paid for one player. It’s not hard to see why the Red Devils would be interested: signing a player of Félix’s profile and potential, at the expense that it would require, would signal to fans that their abject current state is only temporary.
Man Utd has reacted to a hugely disappointing start to the season by trying to buy their way out of trouble. This Félix bid is one of many, with Christian Pulisic also drawing interest from the fading giants. They also may lose Cristiano Ronaldo, whose stay-or-go saga appears to be leaning back towards a departure if he can find a club that he thinks is suitably big enough, and that still wants to take him on.
There’s just two problems with this particular move: Félix’s contract still has four years on it, and Atlético can do some basic math. Félix remains one of the most extravagantly talented players in world soccer. He hasn’t been a flop in Spain, meaning that the idea that his value has only barely increased is completely dubious.
In other words, for Atlético to accept Man Utd’s offer, they’d have to assume that Félix, playing at a bigger club in a bigger league, with four years left on his contract, has somehow only increased in value by €4 million since his move from Benfica.
It’s safe to say Atléti doesn’t feel that way, as they called Félix “priceless” on their official Twitter account.
Priceless. pic.twitter.com/vEuI7Ydcy4
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) August 17, 2022
On top of that, Atlético’s season has already begun, and the summer transfer window closes in just two weeks. Even if Atlético were to accept that their most valuable player hasn’t really increased in value in three full seasons, how would they manage to line up a suitable replacement? How would they explain the move to fans, who hope to challenge city rivals Real Madrid? Or to their other star players, who have ambitions to win trophies at the club?
There were times in the past where this wouldn’t necessarily matter. In years past, when Manchester United came calling, there’s a tremendous cache that can make a player who was not looking to move, suddenly want to move. A club with the global profile of Man Utd, like maybe ten or so clubs on the planet, could make the big transfer they wanted happen by simply catching the right player’s eye.
Those days appear to be gone, and Atlético may not have to worry about Félix being caught up in the idea of Manchester United, thanks to the reality being so clear.
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