It was a mistake for João Félix to join Atletico – Bernardo Silva

Bernardo Silva’s interview with A Bola this week has delivered plenty of interesting material from arguably Portugal’s best player in 2023.

The Portuguese newspaper caught up with Bernardo having issued him an award for his performances across the calendar year, during which he was a key member of Manchester City’s all-conquering treble winning side.

One of the subjects discussed was the career of João Félix, who came through the Benfica academy in the years after Bernardo departed, but quickly left to join Atletico Madrid while still a teenager. Reflecting on the move by Félix in the summer of 2019, Bernardo feels the decision to join Los Rojiblancos was likely influenced by finances rather than suitability for the player.

“We need to understand that players take different paths,” Bernardo began when asked about the forward, who is now on-loan with Barcelona. “My career began with Monaco while Félix's first big move was much younger. I went to City when I was 22, 23 years old and Félix went to Atlético de Madrid when he was much younger.

“We have to understand that Atlético Madrid and Manchester City are two culturally very different clubs. I'm not saying that one is better than the other, I'm not going there, I'm just saying that for a player like Félix and, once again, this is not a criticism of Atlético, I came to an environment that suited my qualities exactly, with a coach who thinks the same way as me, who likes to have the ball, who likes to press, therefore everything was perfect for me.

“Félix, due to circumstances, in my opinion, ended up going to the wrong place. People ask me: if we had gone the other way, would I have been successful at Atlético Madrid? Maybe not. I probably would have tried to adapt, I would have done my best to play the way the coach wants. At the end of the day, we have to follow the coach's idea. But he wouldn't have been ideal for me.

“I think, and I already said this to Félix, and I think he doesn't mind me saying this here because we are very good friends, the path he took at the time was also due to the circumstances, because in the end maybe it suited Benfica for him to go to Atlético because it was Atlético paid all the money at the time instead of in instalments.

“I don't know, I don't know what happened, but it was something like that: it was more worth going there than elsewhere. Now I'm happy with what's been happening to him recently because I see him a lot happier and in an environment that's more in line with his style of play where he’ll get more time.

“Because he went through a difficult phase, he himself admitted that he was in an environment that was not the best suited for his career, and that's life. Sometimes we make decisions and go down paths that maybe we shouldn't have gone, but it's part of it. It's for learning, for us to become stronger. Félix is ​​a much stronger player than he was a few years ago.”

By @SeanGillen via A Bola