Portuguese forward Joao Felix wants to leave Atlético Madrid in January amidst reports of a complete breakdown in the relationship between the 22-year-old and his manager Diego Simeone.

And, with everything indicating that the Argentine is staying put at the Metropolitano Stadium, Felix now wants out at the earliest opportunity.

When the La Liga side paid Benfica €126 million in 2019, it made him the fourth most expensive signing of all time, even though he was still a teenager and had played just one full season for the Portuguese side.

Since then, though, there have just been flashes of why all that money was spent on him, with suggestions that Simeone’s defensive style of football is not suited to his game.

Felix, who remains under contract until 2026, actually began the season well and provided a hat-trick of assists for the first time in Spain in the away win against Getafe.

However, things began to go wrong when he was substituted during the second half of the derby loss at home to Real Madrid, leading him to storm down the tunnel in a fury.

Since then, he has lost his place in the starting line-up and been relegated to the status of a fifth-choice attacker for the club, with Angel Correa, Antonio Griezmann, Alvaro Morata, and Mattheus Cunha all preferred ahead of him.

Having just been given a handful of minutes subsequently, the final straw, as far as Felix was concerned, was when he was left out of the squad entirely for the Champions League visit of the Belgian champions Club Brugge.

Simeone’s side failed to find any breakthrough against the Belgians and had to settle for a goalless draw that left their hopes of progressing into the latter stages of the competition dangling by a thread. Arguably they missed the creativity that Felix can offer.

Now, though, he is looking for a move elsewhere when the transfer window opens, and January could be a busy time across Europe.

Felix’s international teammate Cristiano Ronaldo is determined to leave Old Trafford after falling out of favour under Erik ten Hag, whilst Kylian Mbappé, just six months after signing a contract extension with PSG, now wants to quit the French club, citing broken promises made to him.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nkunku’s move from RB Leipzig to Chelsea could be finalised before the World Cup, although he is likely to remain with the Bundesliga side on loan for the rest of the season.

There is also likely to be a flurry of activity concerning players who perform well for their countries in Qatar, because, for some, it will be an ideal opportunity to put themselves in the shop window.