Cristiano Ronaldo might have found his heir who will inherit his title as a star in the Portuguese national team. As reported by Calciomercato, Ronaldo was trying to get Juventus management to bring Joao Felix, Benfica’s newest wonder kid. Felix also welcomed the opportunity to play with Ronaldo. In an interview with Tuttosport, Felix said that playing with Ronaldo was his dream.
If the best player such Ronaldo has even been monitoring Felix, then who is actually Joao Felix?
Felix is the latest player of the Benfica academy. In the past, Benfica also managed to export special talents such as David Luiz, Angel di Maria, Bernardo Silva, and even Ederson. Benfica’s success in fostering a junior team can be seen from their achievements as being runners-up to the UEFA Youth League twice in the last five years.
Joao Felix joined Benfica from Padroense in 2015. Previously, he had worked in the Porto youth team for six years. The Porto Youth released him because he was considered too thin. He was called to be able to play on any side in Benfica’s attack line. As getting used to playing close to the opponent’s goal, his goal record is also quite high.
Felix had been breaking through the Real Madrid’s goal twice when competing in the 2016/17 UEFA Youth League semifinals. Last year, he won the award of Portugal’s national junior competition along with Benfica. At the age of 16, he became the youngest player to make his debut with Benfica B in 2016.
Starting in the 2018/19 season, he was promoted to the main team and immediately made his debut in the second week of the Portuguese League against Boavista. The following week, he became the youngest player to score in a hot Derbi Lisbon match against Sporting Lisbon. In the second match against the same opponent last week, he scored his eighth goal of the season to give Benfica a 4-2 victory.
SportsSkeeda thought that his football style was similar to Philippe Coutinho’s. His ball trick was good, his movements are swift, and he has his own imagination when holding the ball. He has a good vision that often opens opportunities for his colleagues.
Like Coutinho, he also scored several curved long-distance goals in junior competitions. His appearance looked even more beautiful when playing with a little touch or in the tiki-taka system.
With all these styles, he was able to maintain his spot in Benfica’s main team. Until the beginning of February, he was recorded playing in 22 matches, scoring eight goals, and had three assists. His record is quite enough to make big European clubs have their eyes on him.
Giant clubs such as Manchester United, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Juventus, AC Milan, West Ham, and Borussia Dortmund alternately sent monitors to the Estadio Da Luz. With the release clause of 120 million euros, Felix could have changed his costume in the next season.
As a “raw” player who is only 19 years old, Felix needs to be wise in determining his future. His agent, Jorge Mendes is ready to take him to a big club whenever he wants, but everything still depends on Felix: will he really be The New Ronaldo?
