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FAMOUS FOOTBA LL PLAYERS
YB WEB DESK. Dated: 4/23/2022 1:40:17 PM
João Félix
João Félix Sequeira (Portuguese pronunciation: ; born 10 November 1999) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Atlético Madrid and the Portugal national team. He is known for his versatility, finishing, creativity, and dribbling, and can also play as a winger or an attacking midfielder. 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 19. 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. In his second season at the club, he helped the team win the 2020–21 La Liga, which ended the club's 7-year league title drought. 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, winning the inaugural edition of the competition with his nation on home soil. Early career Born in Viseu, Félix started playing football at Os Pestinhas in 2007 before joining the youth ranks of FC Porto a year later, aged eight. After Félix moved to Porto, he faced some challenges such as extensive schedules that included daily shuttle hours between Viseu and Porto.