AC Milan signed Joao Felix on deadline day, but he was the last to be formally announced. Now, six days on from his signing, he has spoken to the media for the first time.
As the final days of the mercato approached, the likelihood of Felix joining Milan only rose. From the suggestions being dismissed earlier in the window, reports quickly began to suggest that the forward wanted a move and to play under Conceicao.
With a goal on his debut, everyone is already looking ahead to the future, and internally, plans are being drawn up about the possibility of making his stay permanent eventually, though it seems this will be more of a long-term plan than anything major in the summer.
Sitting next to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Felix answered questions about the size of the Rossoneri, how he styles his game like Kaka and much more, and Milan News have relayed his words.
You’ve been here at Milan for a week and a lot has happened. Is there anything this week that has excited you?
“A fantastic week with two victories, with a goal scored at San Siro. I expected it, but Milan is a huge club. You can see it from the outside. When you’re inside you understand why it’s one of the biggest clubs in Europe.”
Fans like to dream, for many you reminds them of Kaká…
“He’s my favourite player ever. I’ve never spoken to him about coming here, but I’ve spoken to him in the past. I met him in the US, I did an interview with him. He’s an idol, I can’t compare myself to him but I wish I could do what he did at Milan, what he did.”
How do you see the balance situation when you four [Joao Felix, Pulisic, Leao, Gimenez] are all together on the pitch? Is it sustainable?
“Yes, of course. I don’t know if it’s normal or not but usually people see that defence is very important. But it doesn’t mean that with four forwards there is no defence. We are forwards, but when there is defending to do we are there to do our job.
“We help in defence, we look for balance as you saw in the second half against Empoli. We defended well and we attacked well, it is possible to do both things.”
How did Mister Conceiçao explain the Milan project to you?
“I already knew the coach, I even played against him. When I left Portugal I continued to follow him. I told him that I would like to play in my role, I didn’t ask to play loads. And this convinced me to come to Milan.
“I knew him before, I know how his teams play. I like him a lot and that’s also why I’m here.”
You are the highest transfer-value Portuguese player in history but you have disappointed expectations a bit. What went wrong? Would you like to stay at Milan even beyond the loan?
“For now I’m on loan, until June. Let’s see how it goes. For the moment I’m really liking everything: the club, the people, the infrastructure. I’ve been welcomed very well, both me and my family. I feel good here, but we know that in football things can change quickly.
“But if there was the possibility of staying at Milan I would like to. In every club, I had the expectation of playing at my best, but if things don’t go well it’s important to persevere.”
In Serie A there aren’t many attacking midfielders like you… How do you see yourself in this role?
“I will do everything the coach asks me to do, at any time and in any role: I will do my best and I will be available to the coach and the team.”
How did Leao welcome you? Did he say anything to convince you?
“I have to say that he was the first to call me to ask me if it was true that I would come. He asked me if I would sign or not, as soon as I did he called me and he was very happy.
“We have a good relationship, we already have a good understanding on the pitch. I like having him by my side.”
Rui Costa was also at Milan…
“Of course, I know Rui Costa. When I played at Benfica he works there, now he is the president. I spoke to him a lot when I was at Benfica, but in recent years we have not spoken much.
“I don’t remember when he played at Milan, what I know I saw on YouTube. But I know he is an idol here, just like Kaká made history.”
Were Inter also interested in you?
“Yes, my agent spoke to me about it. He told me that Inter were interested. But I had already started negotiations with Milan and I already had in mind to come to Milan. I said it would be impossible, I had already decided to come here.”
San Siro fell in love with you right away…
“I immediately loved the atmosphere at San Siro. I experienced this environment at Benfica and Atletico Madrid, but I have to say that here the atmosphere was different. I didn’t expect such a welcome, you could feel the affection of the fans. Incredible atmosphere, I hope it continues like this.”
The choice of number 79…
“The truth is that it’s a number I’m very attached to, my first number as a professional. It’s a special number, it will always be present in my career, it’s the number that I won my first silverware. I’ve always liked it. 79, 14, 11, 7… It’s not the numbers that make an impact, but this one is special.”
What goal do you set for yourself in these six months?
“My goal is to help the club, and the team and win titles. A player’s career is made of this: titles. The important thing is to win and that is my goal. As long as I am here my goal is to win titles and nothing else.”
What is your relationship with set pieces? Do you take free kicks, penalties, corners?
“Yes. Since I’ve been here I’ve had two training sessions on the pitch, the others were just recovery. We haven’t worked on that. But when necessary I’m ready to take corners and free kicks.”
What do you think of Italian football after these two matches?
“It’s too early to say. There is man-marking, this is positive for me because with the right movements, you can find space. I saw that the teams are aggressive, I knew it. There are many duels.”
Rui Costa has 55 assists for Milan. Do you see yourself as an assist man or are you someone who scores more goals?
“There is no doubt, I prefer to score. If I have to go down in Milan’s history, I would prefer for goals and not for assists.”
I like his answer about Inter. Nice interview.
This said, he does sound a bit full of himself for a player who often had good starts for a new club but then faded. He is also said to have issues with work rate.
Clearly his first two games for Milan were good, and of course I do hope he will continue to deliver. I think that Conceição’s strong personality and the fact that at Milan, Felix has two co-citizens, Leão and the head coach, may be instrumental in ensuring that the player’s Milan tenure will be a good one and he will commit more to the project than he did in other clubs.
His situation is to be followed and all this talk of ensuring his permanence beyond the loan is premature. We need to make sure that he will do well in the next 4 months before committing to an attempt to sign him permanently. This is a tricky situation anyway, because the better he does and consequently the more we want to keep him, the more his price will increase.
For now all that I want from him is that he helps us with securing one of the top 4 (or 5 if Serie A achieves the fifth spot again) for the next UCL. Then, we’ll see.
I think that chances are that he will be helpful. He is very creative, which can help with unblocking one of our biggest problems: that we generally play well against good teams that try to beat us, but play poorly against bad teams that just don’t want to lose and park the bus.
Sometimes he is too creative and his companions don’t understand what he is trying to do with fast flicks. This should improve as they play more together.
I’m generally hopeful that despite just joining a new league, a new club, a new language, a new head coach and a new set of teammates, he did well in his first two games which is not always the case for a recently hired player, but I still reserve judgment to see if he will continue to perform well beyond the first two games, and to see if he commits to the project and displays good work rate.
He certainly had the right answers here, saying he will do what the mister tells him, will try his best, will try to attack and defend, etc. But actions count more than words, so let’s see if he translates his words into pitch actions.
Meanwhile, forza João Felix, and welcome to Milan.
Agree with you. It will be dilemma. I don’t think cardinale would afford chelsea demand when felix show great performance. For now, just wait and see for next 4 month.
If we play 4231 or he is some sort of 10 in a 442 then I am pretty excited about him. He can dink, flick and lose possession all he wants if it results in goals and assists by others.
If he is here to score goals I am just not seeing it. Too careless with the ball. Too in love with the dribble.
If he is gonna play a “10” role I have high hopes. Otherwise I think he ends up frustrating fans, team mates and Sarge.
They are good players the front 4 ,but I just don’t see conceicao managing them well ,,he is too one way directional ,he wud always not be able to field them all amd 4-4-2 will not work for this team ,4-2-3-1 wud still be more effective
He does have a bit of kaka in him the way he passes the ball. We can only hope of course he can be half as successful. Kaka type players are less common these days Good luck buddy.
I’m not sure I loved this interview. “If I go down in Milan history I would prefer for scoring goals and not assists”. Didn’t we need someone who can pass and unlock low blocks?
Bring back Krunic then 😀