Felipe Monteiro has not started the season at a good level. The Brazilian central defender has made several mistakes in an Atlético defense that so far this year is showing much less forcefulness than in the rest of the cholismo and that he has conceded more goals than ever with the Argentine coach on the bench.
However, the rojiblanco club knows its importance in the team, in the dressing room, the shortage of personnel in the position and the state of form that can show a Felipe who seems to have gone from more to less since his arrival in the summer of 2019, but that always grows with the passing of the season and ends better than it begins. For this reason, the club has moved tab. Felipe has seven and a half months left on his contract, since he signed until June 2022 in his transfer from Porto in exchange for 20 million.
If nothing changes in their contractual relationship, the Brazilian could sign with any club from January 1 to join the next season as a free agent. But Atlético’s idea is for him to continue wearing the red-and-white shirt and talks have already started to make it happen. At 32 years old, Felipe has always started as a substitute theorist, but either due to the physical problems of his teammates, the tactical change to a three central defense or the improvement in level with the passage of the season, has ended up being very important for Cholo. In his first year, the best so far, Felipe participated in 36 games and scored two goals.
In the 2020-21 campaign, closed with the league title with the Brazilian in the eleven in the last games, The center-back ended up playing 38 games and at the start of the season he has nine more. Felipe is ready to become a centenary this same campaign (17 to go), which gives access to the Paseo de Leyendas del Wanda Metropolitano and he’s a heavyweight in the locker room and the second oldest player after Luis Suárez, whose contract also ends next summer and remains under study (Herrera is the other player who has signed until June 2022). What’s more, Felipe occupies a place of extracommunity, but there is also work being done so that the situation can be reversed. Atlético will study the incorporation of another central defender, but they do not want to lose one of the four they have and less with the freedom card. The club and Felipe are negotiating the option of extending his contract so that he remains at rojiblanco next season.