Atletico Madrid confirm €126m Joao Felix will replace Antoine Griezmann
Atletico Madrid have handed new mega-money signing Joao Felix the No. 7 shirt previously worn by Antoine Griezmann.
The La Liga runners-up announced the completion of Felix’s signing from Benfica on Wednesday for a massive €126m fee with Griezmann looking set to complete a switch to Barcelona in the coming weeks.
Griezmann’s replacement: Five key things to know…
- Griezmann scored 133 goals during five seasons with Atletico.
- But he announced his departure from the club recently with a controversial video.
- Despite losing a clutch of other players, Atleti have announced the €126m signing of Joao Felix.
- The Portuguese youngster bagged 20 goals for Benfica last season.
- Now, the 19-year-old will replace Griezmann as Atleti’s new No. 7.
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And Atleti confirmed the 19-year-old forward will take the Frenchman’s number with a post on their official Twitter account which translated to: “And with the number seven, Joao Felix.”
With Diego Simeone set to lose Griezmann and Rodri – to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively – as well as seeing the likes of Lucas Hernandez (Bayern Munich), Diego Godin (Inter Milan) and Juanfran (free agent) all leave the club, Atleti are undergoing a complete summer overhaul of their squad.
Y con el número 7⃣…
🏧 ¡¡¡@joaofelix70!!! 🔝
👉 https://t.co/4XWNdZ4LpB 👈#AúpaAtleti #PuroTalento #BienvenidoJoãoFélix pic.twitter.com/RV7ACGmt3q
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) July 3, 2019
However, Los Colchoneros are still set to pay the fee for Felix in instalments, with Benfica revealing the financial details of the transfer in their official statement.
The statement detailed that Atletico will pay a sum of €30m up front, while Benfica will “carry out a discount operation” with regards to the remaining €96m which could see €6m knocked off the fee. This will still guarantee the Portuguese giants €120m by the end of the deal.
A busy day for Simeone
A busy day of shopping in Portugal for Simeone and Atletico has seen the Spanish giants complete the signing of Mexican midfielder, Hector Herrera, on a free transfer.
The 29-year-old decided against renewing his contract with FC Porto at the end of the 2018/19 season and will now become a part of Simeone’s new-look squad for the upcoming campaign.
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Announcing the completion of the deal, an Atleti spokesman said: “After signing an agreement with Atlético de San Luis, our sister club in 2017, one of the most talented players in the country arrives, narrowing the affective link between Atletico de Madrid and Mexico even more.
“For all this, we welcome Hector Herrera to the family and wish him all the luck in his new home.
“With the arrival of Herrera, we incorporate a strong, skilful midfielder with quality. He is also a player with great experience in the Champions League. In his six seasons at Do Dragao, he has played a total of 41 duels in the top European competition.”
Hector’s former Porto teammate Felipe has also completed his £17.7m switch to Madrid after agreeing on a deal in May.
