Barça’s João Félix ready to prove point vs. Atlético Madrid،
Barcelona striker João Félix says Atlético Madrid players would be lying if they said they didn’t want to play more attacking football ahead of their first encounter against his parent club this weekend.
João Félix, 24, joined Barça on a season-long loan from Atlético in September and is expected to start when the two teams meet at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
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Since joining the Catalan club, he said he “didn’t adapt” to Atlético’s style of football under coach Diego Simeone, adding that he felt much more comfortable with Barca’s attacking approach during matches.
“For sure [I prefer] this style [at Barcelona] — me and all the players,” João Félix told ESPN before the match.
“If you ask every player, if you also ask the Atlético players, they would prefer to play more time in attack, that’s for sure. If they don’t answer this question, they’re lying.
“Of course every player wants to attack, have the ball and score goals.”
Atlético enters Sunday’s encounter in third place in La Liga, just ahead of Barca in the standings thanks to their better goal difference, although Simeone’s side also have a game in hand.
Despite playing one game less than Barca in the league this season, Atlético have scored more goals (30 to 27), with only co-leaders Real Madrid and Girona ahead of the Rojiblancos.
João Félix, who has scored 34 times in 131 matches for Atlético, can’t wait for Barça to test themselves against his parent club, while on an individual level he can’t wait to see what it means to play against his former teammate Rodrigo DePaul.
“It’s a special match for me,” added João Félix. “Atlético was my home for the last four years, so of course I [left] with some good times there.
“It’s always special to play against my old teammates. It will be good to see them again and see how we play against them.
“I would say De Paul [is the player I am looking forward to playing against the most]because [on] the terrain, it’s so boring.
“The last years I was in his team, so it’s okay, but seeing him from the outside is so boring. I want to see how he will treat me and how he will react.
“I’m excited to see him on the court because outside he’s a really good person. Now I want to see what it’s like to play against him.”
João Félix took his tally to four goals for Barça in all competitions with the winner against Porto on Tuesday, ending a run of 12 matches without scoring for his club.
This victory allowed Barça to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League for the first time since 2021.
“It was very important for the team, for the club and for the supporters because in the last matches we did not play our best football,” said João Félix.
“It was a perfect victory for all of us, the team and the fans, and now we are motivated for the match against Atlético. [because] La Liga is always difficult.
“There are always Barça, Madrid and Atlético fighting for the title. And sometimes other teams are close; this year it’s Girona. Real Sociedad play very well too, and some years it It was Seville or Valencia.
“It will be a good fight until the last match. That’s what we like and I think when you go to matches knowing that you have to win, then the victories breed more confidence and happiness.
