Is Joao Felix the New Football Superstar?

Joao Felix is yet another name that started popping up in the football world, but who is Joao Felix, and why do the best clubs in the world talk about him?

Paris Saint Germain, Real Madrid, Manchester United and other big European clubs have shown their interest in a 19-year old Portuguese player, who has perfected his craft at Benfica, where he played for their U17, U19 and Benfica B team, until he got a chance to step on the big stage in the summer of 2018, when Felix joined the main squad. While he was recognised as a player with huge potential from a very young age, it was not until this season that he really showed his worth. In the 37 games he played for Benfica across all competitions, Joao Felix scored 16 goals and added 9 assists, which helped him grab the attention of some of the best clubs of the world. Despite many big names piling up to grab Joao Felix, already decided and told the media, which club he would like to join.

Who is Joao Felix?

The Portuguese sensation, Joao Felix has gained a lot of attention with his performances throughout the season, however, it was his performances in the Portuguese league matches, more specifically against Sporting, that grabbed the attention of one of the best footballers in the history of the sport. We are of course talking about Cristiano Ronaldo, who has expressed his admiration of the young prodigy. A surprising fact about Joao Felix is that in theory, he is better than Ronaldo, Neymar and even Mbappe looking at solely their first 1000 minutes as professional footballers.

Ronaldo scored 3 goals and added 1 assist in his first 1000 minutes of playing at senior level, Neymar managed to score 4 goals and added 2 assists, while Mbappe had 4 goals and 6 assists. Felix meanwhile scored 8 goals and added 3 assists in just over 1000 minutes of play time.

As of now, there is only one player who managed to put up better numbers in his first 1000 minutes, that player is no other than Lionel Messi, who racked up 13 goals and added 8 assists, but after all, he is Messi.

But there is more behind Joao Felix than just his impressive numbers. Joao Felix has struggled as a young boy due to his skinny posture and physical weakness. Felix, however, was highly talented, so much so his talents were noticed by Porto, when he was only 8 years old, but, due to his lack of physical strength, Joao Felix was released from the club in 2014, which looking back is one of the biggest mistakes Porto have ever made. Soon after leaving Porto, Felix joined Benfica, where he climbed the ranks until he got his chance to appear for the senior club in summer 2018. The rest is history.

Nowadays he is compared to Johan Cruyff due to his desire to roam the field freely while showing high football IQ. Additionally, some compare him to Zinedine Zidane due to his ability to dictate the pace of the game. Whichever comparison we make, it’s by now clear this boy is something special.

With all the spotlights on Joao Felix, he just might join the transfer fiesta we are in for this summer. With talks about some of the biggest names in the world of football changing their clubs, we just might be in for one of the biggest transfer windows we have ever seen, and with an enormous £103m release clause set on Felix, he would surely fit in with the theme of 2019 summer transfer window.

Will he continue his career in Benfica, or should he join the ranks of the world best clubs is yet unknown, however, if there is one club that has a clear advantage over others it’s Juventus, because of one simple reason; Ronaldo. Joao Felix expressed his desire to play alongside his hero Cristiano Ronaldo in an interview with Tuttosport, stating:

“I would like to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo because he is simply the best.”

“He is an idol, a world icon, an example for everyone. The mere fact of being next to him, of being able to train with a monster like him, would allow me to grow further.”

“He always wants to improve. He is an inspiration for me.”