Real Madrid and Manchester United to battle it out for €120 million star, Chelsea want Barcelona superstar as Eden Hazard replacement and more: Transfer Roundup, 7 February 2019

Real Madrid and Manchester United to battle it out for 'new Cristiano Ronaldo'

Los Blancos and the Red Devils are keeping tabs on Benfica youngster Joao Felix who broke out on the scene only earlier this year but has already been dubbed the 'new Cristiano Ronaldo', according to ESPN.

Joao Felix made his debut for the senior Benfica team earlier this year and has already scored 8 goals this season including quite a few very important ones including a late equalizer in the Lisbon derby against Sporting.

ESPN's source claims that Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan and West Ham are all keeping an eye on the 19-year-old.

However, Benfica have placed Felix's release clause at €120 million in order to protect their asset. In an interview with TuttoSport, Felix revealed that his dream is to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

He said,

"I would like to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo because he is simply the greatest. An idol, a world icon, an example for everyone.

"Playing with a monster like him would allow me to improve even more."

About the author

Shambhu is a European and international football journalist at Sportskeeda who focuses on previews, listicles and news articles. An ardent Manchester United supporter since before his teenage years, he started following the Red Devils by age 10 watching MUTV on television. Shambhu is also a highly-revered rapper and a playback singer on Spotify, having a whopping 1 million monthly listeners.

For his articles, Shambhu believes in triple-checking every piece of information, relying on trusted websites like Transfermarkt and Opta, and staying away from speculative publications. He believes that his law degree helped him to be more articulate and meticulous with his content and one of his core strengths is seamlessly involving emotion in his write-ups owing to the love for the sport. For Sportskeeda, has done exclusive interviews with Spanish legends Gaizka Mendieta and Fernando Morientes so far, and his articles boast of a huge readership of close to 50 million.

Shambhu's favorite footballer is Lionel Messi, and the Argentine attaining glory in 2022 is his favorite FIFA World Cup moment. He believes only Kylian Mbappe and Erling Haaland could replicate Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo's rivalry in the years to come. His favorite manager is Sir Alex Ferguson due to the Scot's unmatched longevity at the top.

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Edited by Ananthu Anil