Throughout the January transfer window, Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix has been strongly linked with a loan move away from the club.
Struggling for form under Diego Simeone’s conservative style of Football, the 23-year-old has reportedly been looking for a move to reinvigorate his career, and Atleti have duly obliged.
For a rather exorbitant loan fee, the Spanish side have been ready to loan out Felix to any potential suitors, and until yesterday, Manchester United and Arsenal were said to be the frontrunners for his signature.
However, all those rumours ceased last night, as reputable sources reported that Chelsea had leapfrogged the opposition and secured Portugal International’s signature.
The plot twist came as a surprise to many, and numerous narratives quickly emerged.
Some fans online suggested that Felix is simply an impulse Winter purchase, the kind Chelsea have been prone to in the past.
While others were busy wondering whether the 23-year-old’s arrival would kill any chances for a potential move for Sporting fullback Pedro Porro.
As per reports, Chelsea had been looking at Spain International as a backup to first-choice Reece James.
But with Felix’s signing all but confirmed, it’s highly unlikely that the move will take shape.
The reason?
Well, it has all to do with a tale of deceit and infidelity, allegedly so at least.
For the past three years, Felix has been in a relationship with Portuguese actress Magui Corceiro, but things haven’t been all rosy for the couple.
In fact, there are even rumours stating that the actress has cheated on him thrice, once with the aforementioned Pedro Porro, with Felix graciously forgiving her on every occasion
But as is the case with many things on the Internet, this bit of gossip has been recklessly fabricated as well.
It was conceived after a video emerged of Porro ignoring the pleas of several children and handing his match-worn shirt to Magui instead.
This was followed up by another suspicious clip, which displayed Pedro kissing a blonde woman at a nightclub named ‘Lust’.
The tabloids quickly caught on and stitched together a story stating the woman in the clip was actually Corceiro.
Given the blurry and dimly-lit nature of the clip, the actress used a bit of plausible deniability to wriggle her way out of the accusations.
Unfortunately for her, it was too late, the ‘cheating’ tag latched on, and to this day it persists.
While it would be naive to dismiss the links between Porro and Corceiro entirely, any rumours suggesting that the actress has been unfaithful thrice are completely unfounded and there is virtually no evidence to support them.
The Portugal International stuck by his partner during the tabloid whirlwind, which points to the idea that there wasn’t any cheating, to begin with.
However, he could’ve simply forgiven her, which remains just as plausible.
The exact details remain unknown, and sadly, they will probably remain that way.