Bruno Lage on why João Félix didn’t rejoin Benfica: “I’m starting to believe…” | OneFootball

Bruno Lage revealed that it was practically impossible to sign João Félix due to Chelsea's demands, the club that held the rights to the Portuguese forward, who eventually moved to Al Nassr in the last transfer window. The former Benfica coach gave an interview to the newspaper A Bola, where he discussed various topics from his time at the club, including the failure to sign the Portuguese international.

"I don't know if João was the most talked-about name, because Moussa might have been even more talked about and even made several posts almost suggesting he was coming, but Feyenoord imposed conditions and even renewed the player's contract", Bruno Lage began, recalling another name that didn't join Benfica this summer.

Bruno Lage continued with more details: "It was impossible for us to get there. But interestingly, we still managed to identify a player of immense quality, Dodi. I think it was also a very successful signing. But regarding João, I would like to say that Ivanovic was never a backup option, and our idea was to have four players in that position, as I always considered Henrique Araújo among those four front men: Henrique Araújo, Pavlidis, Ivanovic, and João".

"I started to believe that João could come. He was arriving in Portugal, and I was leaving for vacation. I was at the airport when I received his statements and called him. I spoke to him and told him that if he said that publicly, he was opening the doors, and I would talk to the president to make his wish come true, as it was the wish of everyone", Bruno Lage revealed about the Félix process.

The former Benfica coach concluded as follows: "But Chelsea, who paid what they paid for João, was always uncompromising regarding the amounts to be paid, and it would be very difficult for Benfica, despite having done almost the impossible to bring back a homegrown player. João showed a great desire to return to Benfica and also understood the entire team I was trying to build, where he could be a very important piece, but Chelsea's demands were impossible".

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.