Inside Spain is a weekly instalment brought to you by Football España, providing an insight into all of the major stories coming out of the rich and intense climes of La Liga and beyond.
On Tuesday night, João Felix called up Fabrizio Romano to tell him of a fairytale ending, to say that he dreamed a dream of playing for Barcelona when he was a child, and that he wanted to fulfil it now. If that wasn’t enough for Atleti fans to swallow, Felix finished his confession with ‘they have always been my first choice’.
Since, his plaque outside the Civitas Metropolitano has been desecrated, and training has been as awkward as you might imagine. Rodrigo de Paul said they would be happy to have him back this season a few months ago if it worked out that way, as did CEO Enrique Cerezo – at least publicly offering an olive branch. This week any pretence at making it work turned into exasperation.
Just as fascinating as the statement itself is the workings behind the scenes. The one club he picked (of the top teams in Europe) are precisely the one that are furthest from being able to pull off a deal. Atlético still want a team to cover the cost of Felix, wages and amortisation, even for a loan if not a transfer. Unless there is a major exit, it simply isn’t possible no matter how much some at Barcelona may admire his talent, no matter how strong their connections with agent Jorge Mendes are.
Atletico do not believe Mendes had anything do with this either – there’s surely no way such an astute operator would come out with such an obviously flawed plan, surely? They feel Felix and his father were feeling the tension. Now the story goes that Felix is willing to wait until the last minute of the transfer window to make a deal happen, even if Aston Villa are offering him a chance to kick-start his career, which further makes puzzled directors as to why Felix would make such an announcement at that precise point.
Meanwhile Barcelona have made a significantly cheaper signing. Ex-Chelsea and Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu had a brilliant season for Girona last time out, and even paid some of his own money to force through a deal, making the plane for their preseason tour of the USA.
Oriol Romeu and Sergi Roberto are good friends. The pair go back to Barcelona B over 12 years ago, where both worked under Luis Enrique. #Barca pic.twitter.com/UcKCxd6oN1
— Football España (@footballespana_) July 20, 2023
Real Madrid continue bob along with half an eye on events in Paris. All of the noise coming out of the camp is so positive, that you would probably make them favourites to win La Liga – if they had a striker.
Vinicius Junior and Memphis Depay came in for heavy criticism after defending former Manchester City left-back Benjamin Mendy following his not guilty verdict for rape. They very much painted Mendy as the victim, but were much less vocal as Celta Vigo striker Santi Mina was lost his appeal in court, and now faces four years in prison for sexual abuse, which would be classed as rape in the United Kingdom in this instance.
Finally, Isco has bared all in an interview this week, as he continues his search for a new team. He revealed that he wants to go abroad, the Union Berlin deal collapsed after they changed the terms three times, and that former Sevilla Sporting Director Monchi was responsible for his exit from Andalusia. Now President of Football Operations at Aston Villa, Isco claims that Monchi spread false rumours about his desire to leave, called him the biggest liar he’d met in football, and then Monchi grabbed him by throat…
