On the eve of qualifying for the round of 16 in Porto, Atlético de Madrid president Enrique Cerezo gave an interview to the Portuguese newspaper The ball, in which has put his chest out for João Félix, one of the key rojiblancos players trusted by the classification.
Cerezo did not hesitate to praise the benefits of the Portuguese forward and his signing for the rojiblanco club. He recalled how the player, then the promise of Benfica, attracted a multitude of scouts from great teams in each training session and in each game. And he does not regret having chosen to sign a player who was a promise rather than bringing a consecrated footballer for the same price: “You can’t find players like João Félix anymore. We did it well!”, Says Cerezo. Thus, in the summer of 2019, the Portuguese became, at the age of 19, in the most expensive transfer of the rojiblanco club after paying 120 million euros to Benfica.
The rojiblanco president boasts in the interview of The ball from an operation that, according to him, is basically similar to that of Kun Agüero, when in 2006 he arrived at Atlético from Independiente. Then Kun was 17 years old and the rojiblanco club paid 23 million euros for the striker, in what was the record transfer of Argentine football until then.
For Cerezo, the definitive explosion of the Portuguese striker is, as was the Argentine’s, a matter of time: “We have no reason to think otherwise. He works every day to reach the highest level, the level that we expect from him and that he will soon reach. It takes patience and time. We have the example of Kun Agüero. There were two seasons where he sometimes played, sometimes not, until he got to where he is.. The same will happen with João Félix “.