The relationship between Joao Felix and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is at its lowest point after the Champions League draw with Club Brugges, according to Spanish media.
With the score at 0-0 and Atleti in desperate need of a goal to grab a valuable three points in their Champions League group against a ten man Brugges side, the Argentine boss opted to overlook Felix as an option from the bench, instead using his final change to throw on Axel Witsel in place of Antoine Griezzman, something that failed to pay off.
It leaves Atleti on the brink of an early exit, with the Spanish side now needing to beat both Bayer Leverkusen and Porto to keep their fate in their own hands. More bafflingly, they have scored just twice in four games, yet Felix can hardly get a kick. So far, he has managed just 154 minutes this campaign in the Champions League, though he has started five of the opening eight La Liga clashes.
The snub was not something that Felix, who joined the club for a record £126m, took kindly to, however. When the final change was made he threw his bib on the floor, before taking to social media to “like” posts suggesting that he should have been introduced into the action.
🚨📲| João Félix liked a post showing a video of him throwing his bib and showing his anger towards Simeone.
The caption of the post: “Atletico need to win, and in the last substitution a forward comes off for a defender to enter.” pic.twitter.com/dFpsIcfkaz
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) October 12, 2022
And Marca describe the situation as “one of the worst moments of the always complicated relationship between Simeone and Joao”, with the feeling that often Simeone’s defensive style of play restrict’s Felix’s natural talents.
They add that the relationship seems unsustainable, despite comments from Atleti’s president that he is planning for a future involving both Simeone and Felix, something that is looking increasingly unlikely.
