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What's the story?
La Liga runners-up Atletico Madrid are eager to sign Portuguese forward Joao Felix from Benfica. However, they are facing a bidding war as other major clubs eye a move for the rising star too.
In case you didn't know...
Felix started his youth career with Porto before making the move to Benfica's U17. After advancing through the ranks, he made it into the first team. In the 2018/19 season, the 19-year-old scored 15 goals and racked up 9 assists in 26 appearances.
Felix gained further attention and awe after scoring a hat-trick against eventual semi-finalists Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League earlier this year. The result made him become the youngest Portuguese player to score three goals in the Europa League.
The youngster is widely touted as an eventual successor to fellow Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo, who has led the national team to victory at Euro 2016 and the newly-inaugurated UEFA Nations League.
The heart of the matter
Atletico Madrid are desperate to sign a new forward as their talisman striker Antoine Griezmann will be leaving. The French World Cup winner announced his decision to leave the club in May. Recently, Atletico Madrid's CEO commented that he knew Barcelona would be the next destination for Griezmann. Despite Barcelona's interest, there has been no official announcement thus far.
The wonderkid has attracted a lot of interest from other European clubs and according to BBC, Los Rojiblancos are interested to sign the youngster who has a £107.5m buy-out clause.
If the deal does happen, Felix will become the fifth most expensive signing in history after Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele. He will also become one of the most expensive teenagers of all time.
What's next?
If Atletico Madrid can afford the player, the deal could progress quickly after Spanish international Rodri makes the move from the Wanda Metropolitano to the Etihad Stadium. However, the Madrid club is not the only party keen to sign Felix.
Atletico Madrid will meet Mexican side Guadalajara in the International Champions Cup held at Globe Life Park in July.
