When Joao Felix joined Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr in July 2025, it felt like he had hit rock bottom.
It seemed that he had given up on any aspirations of becoming one of the best players in world football and instead was solely preoccupied with maximizing the financial return from the final years of his physical prime. At 25, it seemed that his best years were firmly in the rear-view mirror.
Fast-forward 14 months, and it’s clear that this move to Al-Nassr was, in fact, the first rational transfer decision of his footballing career.
High hopes
Felix broke onto the scene for Benfica midway through the 2018/19 season under new manager Bruno Lage. He finished the campaign with 20 goals and 11 assists in 43 appearances, while becoming the youngest player to score a hat-trick in the Europa League. After helping Benfica erase a seven-point deficit and pip defending champions Porto to the Primeira Liga title, Felix signed a seven-year contract with Atletico Madrid for a transfer fee of £113million, the fourth-highest sum in football history.
Initially, Felix looked an astute replacement for the legendary Antoine Griezmann as Atleti’s new No.7. The diminutive Portuguese playmaker helped the Rojiblancos win their first La Liga title in seven years in 2020/21. He was named the club’s Player of the Season in 2021/22, before kicking off 2022/23 with a hat-trick of assists. However, Felix would lose his starting spot after an argument with manager Diego Simeone, dropping behind Angel Correa, Antoine Griezmann, Alvaro Morata and Matheus Cunha in the pecking order.
Low confidence
Desperate for a change of scenery, Felix then headed to Chelsea in January 2023. But he never quite recovered from being sent off on his debut against Fulham. Another loan spell at Barcelona followed before Felix finally cut ties with Atleti and joined Chelsea on a permanent deal for an initial fee of £42m. Conor Gallagher went the other way, for £35m. Felix arrived low on confidence, having been the only player to miss in the penalty shootout as Portugal were knocked out of Euro 2024 by France.
While Felix managed to score on his second debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers, it’s fair to say that the sequel didn’t prove better than the original. Despite penning a seven-year contract, Felix lasted just five months at Stamford Bridge before heading to AC Milan on loan. He scored on his debut against Roma but failed to build on his momentum and dropped out of the team. The Rossoneri finished that season eighth and lost to Bologna in the Coppa Italia final. After watching from the bench as Portugal claimed their second Nations League title, Felix decided it was time for a change.
Having bounced around from Diego Simeone to Graham Potter to Frank Lampard to Xavi to Enzo Maresca to Sergio Conceicao, Felix needed a manager who would believe in him. He decided to head to the Middle East and link up with compatriot Jorge Jesus at Al-Nassr. Once again, he made a superb start by scoring the winner on his debut against Al-Ittihad. And he then scored a hat-trick on his league debut against Al-Taawoun.
Finding a home in the Middle East
This convinced Portugal manager Roberto Martinez to give him another chance. He immediately rewarded his trust with a brace aginst Armenia. Felix forged a scintillating synergy in attack alongside international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, leading all Saudi Pro League players with 13 assists and 11.4 Expected Assists. His creativity and unpredictability proved essential as Al-Nassr won their first championship in seven years, with his 23 big chances created second only to Kostas Fortounis (28).
After six consecutive seasons of scoring nine or 10 goals, Felix racked up a career-best 26 goals and 19 assists in 47 appearances. It was enough to see him take home the Saudi Pro League Player of the Season. While he was unable to build on that form in the 2026 World Cup, he has nevertheless picked up where he left off with four goals and three assists in 8 appearances under new Al-Nassr manager Ange Postecoglou. He then reunited with Jesus in Portugal’s Nations League and opened the scoring in a 1-0 win against Wales, receiving on the half-turn before detonating a firecracker from outside the box.
While Ronaldo dropped to the bench for the first time in two years, Felix kept his place against Norway alongside Goncalo Ramos. It took him just 17 minutes to break the deadlock, receiving on the edge of the box, taking a touch to steady himself, and chiseling the opener past Orjan Nyland at his near post. It was the finish of a man riding high on confidence, and who, after years of playing a complementary role, is ready to lead the line for Portugal. And maybe, just maybe, he isn’t done with his European football journey just yet.