After the 1-0 defeat at the City of Manchester Stadium against Guardiola’s City, which was heavily criticized above all for the excessively defensive way in which Diego Simeone prepared Atlético Madrid, Rio Ferdinand, former glory of Manchester United and the English national team, in statements to BT Sportpraised the young Portuguese international forward João Félix and was tough in his considerations about the strategy of The cholo.
“Imagine if he [João Félix] played in a team that gave him the ball in the final third of the field. He, who is the most advanced player on the team, has to take the ball on the midfield line and run 70/80 meters and pass eight players to create danger», began by mentioning Rio Ferdinand.
“I respect the way Simeone makes the team play because he brought success to that club, incomparable with previous times, but I cannot imagine that João Félix likes to play the way the coach asked him to play. [com o Manchester City]. A player like João Félix cannot go on the flight home saying that ‘they [Atlético Madrid] got the best out of me and continue to get the best out of me as a player’. He won’t say that”, highlighted the former centre-back.
Owen Hargreaves, former star of the English team at Bayern Munich, also shares Ferdinand’s point of view and adds: “I think you can almost watch João Félix’s football, it was concluded that he joins Liverpool, City or Chelsea. He has immense quality. For example, Rodri left Atlético and is now playing for Manchester City and I believe that João Félix will also have his opportunity to play in a team of the highest level, because he is very good.”
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