Two key reasons revealed as Man Utd, City miss out on €126m man
Benfica have received a €126million offer from Atletico Madrid for Joao Felix, the Portuguese club has confirmed via a statement.
Manchester United and Manchester City have been tracking the highly-rated 19-year-old, while Liverpool have also been credited with interest.
In fact, recent reports have suggested that Premier League champions City are ready to pay the release clause in order to beat their rivals to the playmaker.
A report last week from Marca claimed that Atletico would have to beat their transfer record to sign Felix, which currently stands at the €72m, but confirmed they were interested in triggering his €120m release clause.
The 19-year-old rose to prominence last season, netting 20 goals and adding 11 assists for the club, who regained the Portuguese title.
Now, it seems that Atleti have indeed won the race for his signature, as an official statement from Benfica has revealed that the Rojiblancos have offered €126m.
Meanwhile, Diario AS cite a report from Portuguese paper Record which claims the teenager has already arrived in Spain to complete a medical.
The deal will most likely be financed by Antoine Griezmann’s €120m exit from the club, while it is also said that the promise of regular first-team football by coach Diego Simeone and his agent Jorge Mendes’s relationship with Atleti were both also key.
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