Joao Felix's move to Atletico is a mistake - Jorge Mendes' self-interest and Renato Sanches prove why
However, Atletico, Benfica, Joao Felix and his agent Jorge Mendes could be all making a colossal mistake. The last time that Mendes oversaw one of his teenage clients earning a big move from Portugal was in 2016, when 18-year-old Renato Sanches moved from Benfica to join German side Bayern Munich. The original transfer fee was just €35m but included another €45m in potential objective-based add-ons.
At just 18, Sanches was uprooted from his home and family in Portugal and shipped off to Germany at the instruction of Mendes; who put money first and his client's personal interest and health second. When he signed for Bayern, the midfielder was full of potential and many dubbed him a future star and a potential contender for the Ballon d'Or the future. However, things have not gone to plan for Sanches.
After an average first year in Germany, where the midfielder's ability was put into question, Bayern shipped him off to Premier League side Swansea on loan for the 2017/18 season. Sanches, however, did not impress in England and yet another change in scenery damaged his growth and development. Swansea were relegated to the EFL Championship at the end of the season and Sanches returned to Bavaria in the summer.
The Portuguese midfielder would spend the 2018/19 season with Bayern Munich but played just 567 minutes of Bundesliga football; scoring once and assisting once. Sanches was demoted to a bench-warmer; one who infrequently graced the field with his presence, despite initially being billed as a future star. Sanches himself has expressed his sadness at not being given a proper chance with Bayern and, with just two years left on his contract with the club, he could well be on the move either this summer or next.
Now 21, Sanches' growth and development was stunted by Mendes and his eye for money; the midfielder would have undoubtedly benefited from staying in Portugal longer and developing with first team minutes and confidence in Liga NOS before moving abroad. However, he was shipped out to Bayern and has never been the same since.
Atletico and Mendes are taking an even bigger gamble on Joao Felix than Bayern did on Sanches. Los Colchoneros have coughed up a €120m fee to meet Benfica's release clause on the youngster, nearly four times the original fee that Bayern spent on Sanches and nearly double the total fee that the midfielder's move to Germany could have potentially reached.
Mendes is banking an astonishing 30% of the transfer fee, amounting to €36m, according to El Chringuito and, by the looks of things, is once again putting his self-interest ahead of what is best for his client. Joao Felix would be much better suited to spending at least another season in Portugal; 19 is such a young age to leave behind your life and start anew in another country - especially when you have so much pressure on you as a result of the eye-watering transfer fee.
Of course, only time will tell if the move will pay off but it is a saddening reflection on football today where agents and clubs put money ahead of the wellbeing and best interests of their clients and players.