What was an open secret was confirmed. Diego Pablo Simeone did not count on Joao Felix for the match against the K-League All Star. The future of the Portuguese is still unclear and the Argentine has already warned that at Atletico there is no one above the club.
Atletico played their first friendly of the summer against K-League All Star. Joao Felix, among others, was missing from the XI, although his absence from the starting line-up came as no surprise after he recently said he would like to play for Barca.
Simeone decided to start with Grbic, Azpilicueta, Savic, Witsel, Mario Hermoso, Samuel Lino, Koke, De Paul, Lemar, Griezmann and Morata. Joao Felix was left on the bench alongside the likes of Oblak, Carrasco, Llorente and Memphis.
Simeone already made it clear what he thought of the Portuguese's future in the pre-match press conference. "There is no one, absolutely no one, above Atletico," he said when asked about his future.
A very different case is that of Morata who, although it is not clear whether he will leave or continue, is still 100% in the Argentinian coach's squad: proof of this is his presence in the starting line-up in this first friendly of the pre-season. The player from Madrid scored in the early stages, but the goal was ruled out for offside.