Diego Simeone has insisted that 'nobody is more important than the club' when quizzed on Joao Felix's future at Atletico Madrid.
Felix spent the second half of last season on loan at Chelsea and has been linked with a permanent move away from Atletico this summer, with Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona the most notable parties that are interested in his services.
The forward recently sparked fury at Atleti by publicly admitting he would like to to join Barcelona, leading to furious demonstrations from fans.
In an interview with AS, Simeone declined to give a definite response to questions over Felix's future but warned the Portugal international that 'nobody is bigger than the club'.
"The main focus is the team," he said. "It is normal that in the press the focus is on whether he stays or leaves. I already said that there is no-one more important than the club, with no exceptions. It’s impossible to be clearer than that."
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Felix joined Los Rojiblancos back in 2019 for an astonishing £103m, and although he has not lived up to his price tag thus far, Simeone did not want to criticise the 23-year-old.
"He has his playing characteristics, he has given his all, he has made an effort to work well with what he has, and what we demanded of him," Simeone reflected. "I cannot have any complaints about his effort because he has given what he could give.
"He has extraordinary ability, we have talked about it a billion times. You see him and he has a good header, a good shot with the left, with the right, good spin, one on one… Is there time [for Felix to succeed at Atletico]? It’s not up to me, ask him and his representative."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Diego Simeone gives uncertain update on Joao Felix's future amid Barcelona links.