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Manchester United could do with a few attacking reinforcements now but the one player the club was linked with throughout without any concrete movement was Joao Felix.
The wantaway Atletico forward was reportedly offered to many clubs as he sought a move away from Diego Simeone’s team, including United.
Now, Paulo Futre, former Director of Football at Atletico Madrid with good Portuguese connections, has confirmed the same.
In an interview with Cadena Sar’s El Larguero, Futre said he “argued” with Mendes on the phone about Felix’s comments on wanting to join Barcelona.
Mendes, in return, said that he had no role in Felix saying that and he had instead offered him to other clubs, saying he had “spoken to Manchester United”.
Futre then tried to call Mendes’ bluff and confirmed this statement from “friends” at United and “it was true”.
He added that United rejected the chance to sign the player, and they were not the only ones.
Felix was also offered to Manchester City, Liverpool, and Arsenal but the answer from every club was the same.
Atletico did find an agreement with Aston Villa but this time, Felix rejected their advances as his heart was set on a move to Barcelona.
The Portuguese eventually did get his wish as he joined the Catalan club on an initial loan deal.
Since then, he looks to have found his footing back in the game after a couple of years in the wilderness, scoring and assisting for fun in a new environment.
However, United are unlikely to lose much sleep over it as Felix’s stint at Chelsea showed that he is perhaps not suited to this particular league’s style of play and Barcelona is a much better fit for him tactically.
