OUTCAST JOAO FELIX was forced to train with Atletico Madrid’s youth team for part of the club’s return to pre-season.
The 23-year-old Portuguese forward moved to Chelsea in January to spend the second half of last season on loan.
EPAJoao Felix (C) has suffered a fresh snub at Atletico Madrid[/caption]
EPAHe was reportedly made to train with the youth team for part of their first training session back[/caption]
Felix scored four goals in 16 Premier League appearances but was unable to stop the rot at the Blues.
Despite it being widely-believed that would turn into a permanent move this summer, he was left stunned after it emerged that Chelsea were pursuing other targets and Mauricio Pochettino’s side have already bolstered their attack.
Nicolas Jackson has arrived in a £32m switch from Villarreal while they have also confirmed the signing of Christopher Nkunku from RB Leipzig for £52m.
Felix, who moved to Atletico from Benfica in 2019 for £113m, fell out with the LaLiga’s side manager Diego Simeone last season.
And the club still appear to be open to letting him leave after they revealed their latest squad numbers for the 2023/24 campaign.
The ace, who the Daily Mail claims has Paris Saint-Germain chasing him, has had his No 7 shirt, the number he had worn since he arrived at Atletico, taken away with Antoine Griezmann instead set to wear it this term as speculation mounts on the future of Felix.
Now footage has revealed that he worked with the kids on the first day of Atletico’s pre-season training camp.
He and Renan Lodi, the 25-year-old defender who was loaned to Nottingham Forest during the last season, were “consigned to an academy rondo” while Simeone led a tactical drill with the first-team squad.
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However, Mundo Deportivo do state that he did spend other parts of the session with the seniors.
They claim that Felix was spotted taking part in the rondo with younger players during the opening part of training.
Atletico, who are at a camp in San Rafael, Segovia, for one week ahead of their tours to South Korea and North America say that “there were colleagues with much less hierarchy and weight in the team [than Felix] who could have waited alongside the homegrown players [as Felix did].”
And the publication added that “his gestures were that of someone who was in skin but not in soul” as they suggested that his mind appeared to be elsewhere.
Felix is believed to have his heart set on a switch to Parc des Princes as he looks to secure an exit from Spain.
And new PSG boss Luis Enrique is also said to be interested in making it happen.
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