ShareThe career of the 26-year-old, which has taken many of Europe’s biggest clubs, has been one of modern football’s greatest curiosities.By Graham RuthvenPortugal’s new era looked a lot like the old one as Jorge Jesus picked his first lineup as manager. There was still a place, initially, for 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo whose fading contribution undermined Portugal’s entire 2026 World Cup campaign. João Félix was also selected to face Wales and Denmark.The days of Félix being the face of Portuguese football’s next generation seemed long gone. Written off as a flop after a meandering route that took in many of Europe’s biggest clubs, Felix joined Al-Nasser in the Saudi Pro League last year. It was a move that appeared to indicate Felix had given up on making an impact at the elite level.Against Wales and Denmark, though, Félix was Portugal’s best player. The 26-year-old found the back of the net in both games, demonstrating the sort of composure in front of goal that evaded Ronaldo. If there was one player who looked to have scored 146 international goals in his career, it wasn’t the 41-year-old.Only Erling Haaland had more shots than Félix in Sunday’s meeting between Norway and Portugal while only Ronaldo had more in the win over Wales in Lisbon. At a time when it would have been easy for Félix to be pushed aside due to the location of his club, he is finally showing what he can do at international level.Félix has long been a mystery box of a player. He became the second-most expensive teenager in football history after Kylian Mbappé when he joined Atlético Madrid for €126m in 2019, but was never a good fit for Diego Simeone’s playing style. While there were glimpses of Félix’s talent, he struggled for form.From there, Félix made the ill-advised decision to join Chelsea when the Stamford Bridge club lacked any sort of direction. A loan to Barcelona similarly did little to help the Portuguese attacker’s development with a short stint at AC Milan possibly the most forgettable of his career.Amid all these bouncing around, Felix failed to nail down a position. Some managers used him in a wide role despite the fact Félix has never been much of a one-on-one dribbler. Others deployed him as a second striker where his knack for finding space between the lines is useful.To use Félix as a roaming number 10, though, the teams he played for required a rock-steady midfield platform to compensate. His selection frequently put too much strain on other parts of the side and so it was easier to use Félix as a depth option off the bench. That has been his role at several clubs.Félix’s journeyman 20sIn the Saudi Pro League, though, Al-Nasser have built around Félix who scored 20 league goals in 33 games in his debut season. Then the coach of his club side, Jesus embraced Félix in a way no manager had done since the attacker’s Benfica days and the results have been astonishing. It took a move to Saudi Arabia for Félix to show his potential again.In Jesus, Félix has found a father figure. The veteran coach has put his arm around the shoulder of a widely misunderstood player who not so long ago was considered one of the most exciting in Europe. When Félix broke through at Benfica, he was compared to Johan Cruyff. That’s how much promise he had.Since then, Félix has paid a heavy price for several bad career decisions, but he’s still only 26. There is still time for him to become the player many predicted he would be. Portugal are certainly benefiting from Félix operating in a free role that makes the most of his natural talent as a creator and a finisher.Félix’s player traits compared against forwards in similar level league football“That’s where I can make things happen,” said Félix when asked about the second striker role Jesus has trusted him in for club and country. “He’s played me there since last year and everyone can see the results. I hope it will be the same in the national team – that things go well and people will see the real me.”In Félix’s own words, he would entertain a return to Europe at some point in the future. “I’m happy and enjoying my soccer, but it’s true that I’m also thinking about returning,” said the 26-year-old. “I don’t know whether it’ll be next year, in two years, three or four, but I’d like to play in European competitions again.”When Jesus was hired as Roberto Martínez’s replacement after the World Cup, many cynically – and perhaps fairly – looked at how the former Al-Nasser boss would favour Ronaldo. Instead, Ronaldo was benched for the win over Norway with Félix the main man in the number 10 role.Perhaps more significant than Félix scoring in back-to-back games against Wales and Norway was the fact he played the full 90 minutes in successive matches as a Portugal international. A Saudi Pro League star is responding well to Jesus as Portugal’s new manager, but not the obvious one.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every Nations League game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.The career of the 26-year-old, which has taken many of Europe’s biggest clubs, has been one of modern football’s greatest curiosities.By Graham RuthvenPortugal’s new era looked a lot like the old one as Jorge Jesus picked his first lineup as manager. There was still a place, initially, for 41-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo whose fading contribution undermined Portugal’s entire 2026 World Cup campaign. João Félix was also selected to face Wales and Denmark.The days of Félix being the face of Portuguese football’s next generation seemed long gone. Written off as a flop after a meandering route that took in many of Europe’s biggest clubs, Felix joined Al-Nasser in the Saudi Pro League last year. It was a move that appeared to indicate Felix had given up on making an impact at the elite level.Against Wales and Denmark, though, Félix was Portugal’s best player. The 26-year-old found the back of the net in both games, demonstrating the sort of composure in front of goal that evaded Ronaldo. If there was one player who looked to have scored 146 international goals in his career, it wasn’t the 41-year-old.Only Erling Haaland had more shots than Félix in Sunday’s meeting between Norway and Portugal while only Ronaldo had more in the win over Wales in Lisbon. At a time when it would have been easy for Félix to be pushed aside due to the location of his club, he is finally showing what he can do at international level.Félix has long been a mystery box of a player. He became the second-most expensive teenager in football history after Kylian Mbappé when he joined Atlético Madrid for €126m in 2019, but was never a good fit for Diego Simeone’s playing style. While there were glimpses of Félix’s talent, he struggled for form.From there, Félix made the ill-advised decision to join Chelsea when the Stamford Bridge club lacked any sort of direction. A loan to Barcelona similarly did little to help the Portuguese attacker’s development with a short stint at AC Milan possibly the most forgettable of his career.Amid all these bouncing around, Felix failed to nail down a position. Some managers used him in a wide role despite the fact Félix has never been much of a one-on-one dribbler. Others deployed him as a second striker where his knack for finding space between the lines is useful.To use Félix as a roaming number 10, though, the teams he played for required a rock-steady midfield platform to compensate. His selection frequently put too much strain on other parts of the side and so it was easier to use Félix as a depth option off the bench. That has been his role at several clubs.Félix’s journeyman 20sIn the Saudi Pro League, though, Al-Nasser have built around Félix who scored 20 league goals in 33 games in his debut season. Then the coach of his club side, Jesus embraced Félix in a way no manager had done since the attacker’s Benfica days and the results have been astonishing. It took a move to Saudi Arabia for Félix to show his potential again.In Jesus, Félix has found a father figure. The veteran coach has put his arm around the shoulder of a widely misunderstood player who not so long ago was considered one of the most exciting in Europe. When Félix broke through at Benfica, he was compared to Johan Cruyff. That’s how much promise he had.Since then, Félix has paid a heavy price for several bad career decisions, but he’s still only 26. There is still time for him to become the player many predicted he would be. Portugal are certainly benefiting from Félix operating in a free role that makes the most of his natural talent as a creator and a finisher.Félix’s player traits compared against forwards in similar level league football“That’s where I can make things happen,” said Félix when asked about the second striker role Jesus has trusted him in for club and country. “He’s played me there since last year and everyone can see the results. I hope it will be the same in the national team – that things go well and people will see the real me.”In Félix’s own words, he would entertain a return to Europe at some point in the future. “I’m happy and enjoying my soccer, but it’s true that I’m also thinking about returning,” said the 26-year-old. “I don’t know whether it’ll be next year, in two years, three or four, but I’d like to play in European competitions again.”When Jesus was hired as Roberto Martínez’s replacement after the World Cup, many cynically – and perhaps fairly – looked at how the former Al-Nasser boss would favour Ronaldo. Instead, Ronaldo was benched for the win over Norway with Félix the main man in the number 10 role.Perhaps more significant than Félix scoring in back-to-back games against Wales and Norway was the fact he played the full 90 minutes in successive matches as a Portugal international. A Saudi Pro League star is responding well to Jesus as Portugal’s new manager, but not the obvious one.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every Nations League game on FotMob – with in-depth stat coverage, including xG, shot maps, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.