Atletico Madrid fans have reportedly defaced Joao Felix’s hall of fame plaque outside the Wanda Metropolitano stadium on Wednesday following the Portuguese move to Chelsea.
After an uneventful five years in Madrid, the Portugal international signed a seven-year contract with the Premier League side for an estimated €50 million ($55.7 million).
According to ESPN, a plaque in the “Walk of Centenary Players” is presented to Atletico players who have played 100 or more games for the team outside the stadium in the outskirts of Madrid.
On Wednesday, someone had scribbled an offensive statement in chalk and covered Félix’s monument with rubbish.
In July 2019, the player left Benfica to sign a club record €126 million deal with Atletico.
He went on loan to Chelsea in January 2023 after failing to regularly perform and adjust to coach Diego Simeone’s football philosophy. He later called his loan move to Barcelona for the 2023–24 season a “dream come true.”
Disgruntled Atlético supporters have not only targeted Félix’s plaque but others as well.
After Thibaut Courtois joined rivals Real Madrid in 2018, supporters began tossing toy rats on the monument honoring the player, who played on loan for Atlético from 2011 to 2014.
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When Antoine Griezmann signed a contract with Barcelona in 2019, his plaque was vandalized. In 2021, the France star returned to Atlético.
Unknown individuals stole Courtois’ plaque in May 2022 during the night when supporters expressed their displeasure with his remarks prior to Real Madrid’s Champions League final against Liverpool, claiming he was now “on the right side of history.”
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