Interview: Joao Felix on why Al Nassr, Ronaldo, Jesus and 'enjoying every moment' | OneFootball

Still aged only 26, Joao Felix has experienced enough already in his career to understand the importance of cherishing the good times.

A long-standing Portugal international, the Al Nassr forward has represented some of the world’s preeminent football clubs, including Benfica, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, AC Milan and Chelsea.

At one time, he was voted the best young footballer in Europe, while his CV is decorated by top-flight titles from his native Portugal and from Spain.

In the summer, not long before his headline-grabbing transfer from the English Premier League to its counterpart competition in Saudi Arabia, Felix captured a second UEFA Nations League crown with his country.

The separate successes, not to mention the peaks and troughs at the elite end of professional football, allow Felix a perspective way beyond his years. His mantra, mindful and mature, exemplifies that.

“Just enjoy football as much as you can, enjoy what football brings you, because all this goes by very quickly,” Felix tells the Saudi Pro League in his first sit-down interview since joining Al Nassr. “Yesterday I was 19 years old and I was winning the Golden Boy. Now I'm 26.

“What I say is to enjoy, [and] work for your goals. But above all, enjoy every moment, every training session, every game, every day. Because there's no better life than ours.”

In pure footballing terms, it feels as if Felix is living his best life right now. Signed in July from Chelsea, he has burst out of the blocks in the Roshn Saudi League, announcing his arrival with a hat-trick on debut in Matchweek 1.

Another treble, in Matchweek 5, and two goals in two games since the restart has helped hoist Felix to 13 goals in 11 appearances to share top spot in the 2025-26 RSL scoring charts. He sits there alongside captain and compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo, winner of the past two golden boots.

Like Ronaldo, Felix’s own flourish has fired Al Nassr’s collective. Chasing a first Saudi title in seven seasons, the Riyadh giants went into the RSL hiatus top of the table by four points. Remarkably, Tuesday's 2-2 draw at Al Ettifaq constitutes the first points Al Nassr have dropped.

With a league-leading 16 goal involvements, Felix has been at the forefront.

“I never plan to score ‘X’ goals, or [get] ‘X’ assists," he says. "The project is always to try to win as many titles as we can. The goals and assists come as a consequence of my work, of the team's work.

“If the team wasn't doing well, I wouldn't be having these numbers. [It’s just to] keep doing what I've been doing; the team keeps doing what it's been doing. And, by the end of the season, we'll see where we are.”

Joao Felix leads the RSL scoring charts, with 11 goals in nine appearances

As Felix acknowledges, Al Nassr’s superb start has been made possible only through collaboration. His team possess both the most miserly defence in the division, with a mere five goals conceded, and the sharpest attack, with 30 scored.

Fellow summer signings Inigo Martinez and Kingsley Coman have, like Felix, settled seamlessly. Augmenting an already star-studded squad, the results are there for all to see.

“It's still just the beginning,” Felix says. “We have a group of players already with some experience. Not in terms of age - also a little but not just that - because experience I don't believe is just age.

“Experience is acquired with experiences. And we have players who have already lived a lot in football. We have Cristiano, obviously, Inigo, Brozo [Marcelo Brozovic], who are the oldest in the team, who bring us some experience and some teachings.

“But both I, Coman, Sadio [Mane], [Mohamed] Simakan, Bento, we can bring different things to the team. And when everyone thinks for the team, we all try to help each other.

“That's where our winning mentality comes from: because we have a lot of winning players.”

In his skipper, both for club and country, Felix has one of the winningest players in football history.

“Of course, having Cristiano as a teammate is always good, for everything he brings to the team, all the teachings,” Felix says. “He's a role model for almost all players, especially when it comes to work and dedication.

“The fact that I and our teammates have him around, it makes us better players too, and especially more professional, which is very important nowadays.

“And that we're here with him helps us a lot. As you've seen, our team has played game after game, and continues to respond well physically.

“All the efforts [Cristiano] makes and what he does on the pitch, which he has experienced more than all of us together, which he puts in every day and every game, is unique.

“And that we see him, at 40 years old, doing what he does only gives us more motivation. As I said before, he's an example for us, and we always try to look for the positive things he does for us.”

While Ronaldo and Felix form the pinpoint of a formidable frontline at Al Nassr, there’s Mane and Coman also, among others.

Three of members of that quartet (Mane is currently at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations), who have all represented some of the most prominent clubs in the game, rank in the top six in the RSL this season for goal contributions.

“All of us are quality players, and playing all four together, because we get on well, things end up going well,” Felix says. "It's good that we're all together, because when one isn't doing so well one day, the other three are. Or if two aren't doing so well, the other two are, and end up helping the team.

“I think that, when all four of us are doing well, we're unstoppable here in Saudi Arabia.”

Melding everything together is Jorge Jesus, the one-of-a-kind manager who masterminded Al Hilal’s record-setting 2023-24 season before this summer making the somewhat-controversial move to their principal Riyadh rivals.

Felix knows the passionate Portuguese well: Jesus was Benfica manager for six years from 2009, winning 10 trophies. Now at Al Naasr, the pair have struck up an obvious bond.

“It helped me a lot,” Felix says of their relationship. “One of the reasons I'm here is because of him; when he was in other teams, he tried to take me there, too. This time, the opportunity arose, and it was possible.

“The fact that he trusted me, believed in my talent, put me in the position that brought me to the world of football, and where I can help the team more, were all important factors.

“And what has happened, what we've seen, him trusting me, putting me in my position, things have gone well. And we hope to continue.”

As Felix confirms, Jesus was pivotal in him plumping for Al Nassr. Understandably, there remains that affection for Benfica, the club who provided the platform for Felix to forge his way in the pro game.

But, in the summer, the Portuguese giants didn’t come in. In contrast, Al Nassr displayed their determination to make Felix an integral part of their plan for RSL glory.

“What made me come was the will of the club to have me,” he explains. “The truth is that I had to go back to Benfica in the last three summers; it was always my will. I always said that to my agents.

“But there was never a serious will from the club - I don't know from whom. The opportunity never arose, not because of transfer values, or salaries. Nothing to do with that. It was always a matter of desire on the other side, which was not realised.

“Al Nassr, however, came forward with more will, with more desire. And, when that's the case, we can't refuse. And right now, circumstances are all in favour; that's one of the reasons things are going so well.

“I live the moment a lot, I live the present a lot. I don't make plans for next year, or for two years. Of course, I have some goals, but I live day by day, year by year. And for now I'm happy at Al Nassr. I'm focused here at Al Nassr.”

Continue with that clear-eyed conviction, and Felix could well post one of the greatest debut seasons the RSL has witnessed. Certainly, his individual thrive would go some way to ensuring Al Nassr’s. He knows what winning the title would mean to the club, to the fans, to everyone connected.

Even though he’s achieved so much in an already-compelling career, an old head on still-young shoulders is thinking about legacy.

“I want to do the best I can, help the club," Felix says. "And by doing that, and things going well, people will always remember me, they'll always have a special affection for me.

“I think that's why we all play: it's about leaving our mark in football, in the clubs, in the national team. We all play a little bit for that. And I don't run away from it.”

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