Manchester United have reportedly had an offer of €130 million for Joao Felix rejected by La Liga giants Atletico Madrid.
According to AS, Atletico Madrid have swiftly turned down a massive bid worth €130 million for Portuguese forward Joao Felix from Manchester United in the ongoing transfer window.
It is a sign of growing desperation for Manchester United that they are now exploring the possibility of signing a third Atletico Madrid forward after having tried to land Alvaro Morata and Matheus Cunha recently. Talks were held with the former, but they did not lead to anything, while the latter is believed to have flat out rejected the Red Devils’ overtures.
Manchester United have now turned their sights to Joao Felix, a player that has been on the club’s radars in the past. The faltering Premier League giants are on the hunt for a new forward as Cristiano Ronaldo’s future continues to remain clouded in uncertainty. Given Anthony Martial’s injury record and inconsistency issues, it only makes sense for Erik ten Hag to bring in another forward.
However, none of Manchester United’s endeavours to sign a new striker have yielded the desired result, forcing them to turn to Felix. Reports from MARCA that the Red Devils had initiated discussions with the 22-year-old Portuguese international over a potential transfer in the current transfer window.
Atletico Madrid have no intention to sell João Félix this summer and also won’t accept €50m for Matheus Cunha. Clear message sent to Man United. ?? #MUFC
John Murtough had direct contact with Atletico and the answer was negative. pic.twitter.com/BW2VfUWFs3
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 17, 2022
Now, AS reports that Manchester United followed it up with an offer for Felix worth a massive €130 million. However, the bid has been rejected by Atletico Madrid, who intend to keep hold of the former SL Benfica prodigy. The only way they would consider parting ways with the Portuguese forward would be if Manchester United were to trigger his release clause, which stands at an enormous €350 million.
Felix signed for Atletico Madrid from Benfica in 2019 in a deal worth over €100 million. The 22-year-old endured a difficult first couple of years in Spain as he found it hard to get going in Diego Simeone’s system. However, he has shown a great improvement in his form over the past eight months or so and is now seen as an invaluable member of the team at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Felix has started the new season with a bang, registering three assists in Atletico Madrid’s La Liga opener last weekend. Given his rising stature and the fact that he still has four years left on his contract with the club, Los Rojiblancos have no reason at all to sell him this summer.
So, Manchester United’s efforts seem to have proved futile yet again as they continue their search for a new forward before the transfer window closes. It remains to be seen who the Red Devils sign as they have several other names on their radars, such as Sasa Kaladzjic of VfB Stuttgart and Borussia Monchengladbach’s Marcus Thuram, while PSG outcast Mauro Icardi has also been linked.
