Joao Felix slammed by new manager after Chelsea transfer exit - 'He's completely out of it'

Joao Felix's first game for Al-Nassr has drawn comments from his new manager, Jorge Jesus, following his exit from Chelsea.

The Portuguese forward left Stamford Bridge to join the Saudi Arabian club after spending the second half of last season on loan at AC Milan. Felix had struggled to secure a place in Enzo Maresca’s plans at Chelsea.

The Italian manager previously explained his decision not to play Felix regularly, saying: "He has been very good with us. It’s just a matter of my decision.

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"We need defensive balance, and when you have so many attacking players, you can concede goals and I don’t like that."

However, Felix’s move to the Middle East came as a surprise. He had been in talks with Benfica over a potential return to Portugal, with manager Bruno Lage reportedly keen on reuniting with the forward.

On Wednesday, Felix was named in the starting XI by Jorge Jesus for a friendly against French side Toulouse. After playing 59 minutes, Jesus criticised his performance: "Today I saw his first training match, and he’s completely out of it," Jesus said following Al-Nassr’s 2-1 win. "He needs to prepare better, especially since he hasn’t been training much.

"This is only his third training session with us. But I believe in his talent and am confident he will return to the player he was at Benfica."

Felix was once hailed as the golden boy of European football after his breakthrough at Benfica and a £111million move to Atletico Madrid in 2019.

His former Atletico teammate Saul Niguez, who recently joined Flamengo, has also spoken about the time they shared the dressing room.

"Football is a team game," he told El Partidazo de COPE (via A Bola). "He has all the qualities to be an incredible player, but no matter how good you are, if you don't work, it's worth nothing.

"I heard a phrase from Paco Jemez that said that talent without work is nothing. We tried to help Joao, but if the person doesn't want to [be helped]..."

At 25 years old, he joins a growing list of Stamford Bridge players moving to the Middle East, following Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, N'Golo Kante, and Angelo Gabriel.