João Félix Sequeira (born 10 November 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Spanish La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Portugal national team.

He is known for his speed, finishing, creativity, technique, and dribbling, and can also play as a winger or an attacking midfielder. He is also often referred to as Menino de Ouro (The Golden Boy) by the Portuguese and Spanish sports media.

Félix initially trained at Porto's youth ranks before moving to rivals Benfica in 2015. He began playing for the latter's reserve team a year later and was promoted to the first-team in 2018, making his professional debut at age 17. He then starred as a goalscorer and helped Benfica win the league title in his first and only season with them, and was awarded Primeira Liga's Best Young Player of the Year and the Golden Boy award. Internationally, he became the youngest ever player to score a hat-trick in the UEFA Europa League, aged 18.

Félix's performances sparked the interest of several European clubs, with Atlético Madrid signing him in 2019 for a club-record transfer worth €126 million (£113 million), the fourth-most expensive football transfer, the second-most ever paid for a teenager and the highest fee for a Portuguese player leaving the domestic league. Shortly after, Félix was listed among the shortlist for the Ballon d'Or and finished third for the Kopa Trophy in 2019.

Félix is a former Portugal youth international, representing his country at under-18, under-19, and under-21 levels. He earned his first cap for the senior national team, during the semi-finals of the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals, won by Portugal on home soil.

Félix debuted professionally at the age of 16 for Benfica's reserve team in LigaPro on 17 September 2016, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute for Aurélio Buta in a goalless draw at Freamunde. In doing so, he became the youngest player to debut for Benfica B.[20] He played 13 matches and scored three goals over the season, the first being a consolation in a 2–1 loss to his hometown team Académico de Viseu on 15 February 2017. Later, on 30 January 2018, he scored a hat-trick in a 5–0 home win over Famalicão. During that season, Félix played in the 2016–17 UEFA Youth League, in which he was a key part of Benfica reaching the final of the competition, lost to Red Bull Salzburg (2–1); he scored six goals in the tournament.

Félix was then promoted to Benfica's first team for the 2018–19 season, making his debut in a 2–0 Primeira Liga win at Boavista on 18 August. A week later, he scored his first Primeira Liga goal, thus becoming the youngest player to score in the Lisbon derby, which ended in a 1–1 tie. On 16 January 2019, he scored the qualifying goal against Vitória de Guimarães in the Portuguese Cup quarter-finals. After Bruno Lage took over as coach of Benfica, his first decision was to use Félix more regularly, partnering him with Haris Seferović in the attack.[25] Later on, Félix was praised for his performance in a 4–2 away win over Sporting CP in the league on 3 February,[26] subsequently sparking interest from several European clubs. A month later, he scored the equaliser in a 2–1 away win over Porto in the league.

On 11 April 2019, Félix scored a hat-trick in a 4–2 UEFA Europa League win over Eintracht Frankfurt. In doing so, he became the youngest ever player (aged 19 years and 152 days) to score a hat-trick in the competition, breaking Marko Pjaca's record by 67 days. Félix finished his first season with 20 goals for his team, including one on the final day of the league campaign, in a 4–1 win over Santa Clara to seal the title; his 15 league goals put him joint-fourth for the season. Across Europe's seven best leagues, he ranked second among teenagers for goals and assists, behind Kai Havertz and Jadon Sancho, respectively.

On 3 July 2019, Félix signed a seven-year contract with Spanish club Atlético Madrid for a transfer fee of €126 million (£113 million), the fourth highest sum ever paid in football (this was also Benfica's biggest transfer and Atlético's most expensive signing ever) as well as the second highest fee ever paid for a teenager (after Kylian Mbappé), with the Spanish club initially paying €30 million and the rest €96 million via installments, thus surpassing Félix's €120 million release clause, and with Benfica paying €12 million in mediation services. Upon his arrival to the club he was handed the number 7 shirt previously worn by Antoine Griezmann, who had departed to Barcelona.

On 1 October, Félix scored his first UEFA Champions League goal and set up another goal in a 2–0 away victory against Lokomotiv Moscow, becoming the youngest goalscorer for Atlético Madrid in the competition in the process, at 19 years of age.

On 27 November 2019, Félix became the second Portuguese player, after Renato Sanches, to win the Golden Boy Award for the best player in Europe under the age of 21, ahead of Borussia Dortmund's Jadon Sancho.

свернуть