Composite: Getty Images
With victory comes vindication, redemption and revenge, the basis of so many stories, especially in sports - and especially this Sunday in the match they are trying to give the 'Super Duel' a new name, a cousin of the classic. When João Félix scored his first goal in 12 games on Tuesday to beat Porto, putting Barcelona top of Group H and allaying fears of another European exit, he celebrated by kissing the badge he has worn 16 times to behave. Five days later, he faces the club he still belongs to, Atlético Madrid, in the league, trying to avoid a defeat that would also feel a bit like an exit, even at this point. "If he kisses the badge this time," said Atlético president Enrique Cerezo, "it's because he feels Barcelona."
Or because perhaps he has something to prove, every goal a riot, a message for both clubs: the one that owns him and the one he hopes will. Cerezo's tongue was no doubt stuck in his cheek, mischievously noting that "a lot of players kiss badges." After four frustrating seasons at Atlético and one aborted breakout attempt at Chelsea, Félix left Atlético on the final day of the summer window and joined Barcelona on a one-year loan. In July he had announced: "I would like to go to Barcelona; that has been my wish since I was a child."
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That was the kind of commentary guaranteed to irritate the supporters, and that was part of the point. Félix desperately wanted to leave, looking for a place that would suit his style, a place where he could be happy. The problem is that getting there is one thing and staying is another. There is no purchase clause, a final solution is far from simple. Atlético coach Diego Simeone said he hoped Félix would do well: that way his selling price would be higher or he would bring back a better player. No one doubts that Simeone prefers the first outcome; regarding the latter, although the higher the level of the Portuguese, the more likely Barcelona are to want him, the less likely they are to be able to afford him.
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Furthermore, many suspected that Simeone's words were not entirely sincere; there was a tension, a sense that this had become personal. Not only with the manager, but also with some teammates. Everyone knew it couldn't go on like this any longer. Simeone has spoken about Félix not understanding Atlético's 'quirks'; Félix has made it clear that football at Barcelona is different. To which the temptation at this point would be to reply: yes, it's even worse. They are level on points, but Atlético has a game in hand, has scored more goals, has won 18 consecutive home games and is making an increasingly convincing bid for the title; Barcelona, on the other hand, are holding on to theirs with a grip that appears to be loosening, making victory on Sunday increasingly important.
As for Félix, he has scored three times in the Champions League, the last fundamental and hugely celebrated. He has one in the league. His first few matches were a revelation, like a liberated man, someone who had finally found his place; Barcelona supporters could say they saved him. There are still glimpses of the player he can be, a desire to demonstrate that to Barcelona and remind Atlético of what they wouldn't see or accommodate, a sense of vindication in it all. And yet that momentum has waned and Barcelona are struggling to convince, their results outpacing their performances.
This competition can help define their seasons; it is important for many reasons and that is just one of them, even if it is Félix who has dominated the build-up. Asked about him, Atlético captain Antoine Griezmann said: "When you arrive here, you kind of know what the coach is like, what the team is like, and you either adapt or it doesn't work out well. There were moments when João did very well, when he worked well, but you have to be consistent and maybe there was a time when he got tired [of it]that he no longer saw himself there and so pushed to leave, and the club made an attempt to find an exit for him.
"I don't agree," Félix replied. "He has his opinion and I'm not going to comment. There are things that didn't go well, but that's not one person's fault."
Every game offers one side the chance to be right, nothing more than this. The better Atlético played without Félix, the more it was him, and while easy, it was not lost on anyone that their collective performance improved last season after he went to London. The better Félix plays without Atlético, the more it was them. The truth is both and neither. Either way, they're better off separated. The recriminations persist - one columnist in Catalonia suggested it's better than kissing the badge before Barcelona fans would raise yours for Simeone - but so does the prospect of them being forced together again.
Griezmann knows there can be a way back. He too left Atlético for Barcelona, possibly the only place in the world where there was a player who does what he does better than him, but now he's back and he's won them over again. All it took was for him to be easily La Liga's best player in 2023, miles ahead of the rest, a man who finished with fifteen goals and sixteen assists in the league last season alone, and thirteen already this season scored goals. two become their all-time top scorer, leading them in every match.
Well, that and what in retrospect looks like the deal of the century: Atlético sells him for 125 million euros and buys him back for 20 million euros; the patience to play just 30 minutes per match while Atlético forced Barcelona's hand; the humility to remain silent and never complain; and the fuel provided by the search for forgiveness. "When not everyone agreed that he should return, I was convinced that he was born to play for Atlético," said Simeone. "He grew, he went, he came back and came back to a place where people felt uncomfortable because he left, and he turned it around. He will certainly be in the club's history."
It looks like Félix won't be. Not least because neither party wants that at the moment. Griezmann has proven that you can come back, make amends and still be the best. But this is an exceptional case and few doubt that it is best for Félix and Atlético to avoid a return, for the sake of everyone. Sunday night, when third and fourth place meet and he meets the club that owns him even if he doesn't want to, that's a good place to start.
