Joao Felix's move to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al-Nassr has sparked criticism from his former Atletico Madrid team-mate Saul Niguez, who claims that the Portuguese forward has failed to maximise his potential due to a lack of hard work. Saul insists talent is "worthless" without the work ethic to back it up, and has revealed that "many of us tried to help" Felix during his turbulent years in Europe.
Ex-team-mates tried helping Felix during struggles
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Earlier this week, Felix completed his transfer to Al-Nassr from Chelsea in a deal worth up to €50 million, ending a rocky period in European football. The 25-year-old struggled for form during loan spells at Chelsea and Barcelona following a €126 million (£109m) move to Atletico Madrid in 2019 from Benfica. Felix joined Chelsea permanently last summer but soon fell out of favour under Enzo Maresca, and after a forgettable loan stint at AC Milan, he has now left Europe for a new challenge in Saudi Arabia. His decision to join Cristiano Ronaldo in the Saudi Pro League has drawn major scrutiny from fans and pundits alike, with Saul blasting the forward for his lack of hard work.
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WHAT SAUL SAID
Speaking on , Saul said: "Football is a team game. He has all the qualities to be an incredible player, but no matter how good you are, if you don't work hard, it's worthless. I heard a quote from Paco Jemez that said talent without hard work is nothing… Many of us have tried to help Joao, but if one doesn't want to…"
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Once hailed as one of Europe’s most exciting talents, Felix has failed to live up to the hype. His inconsistency and nomadic club career have raised concerns about his motivation and long-term ambitions. A move to Saudi Arabia at just 25 has further fuelled the debate over young stars chasing money over legacy.
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WHAT NEXT FOR FELIX?
Felix has already made his friendly debut for Al-Nassr, featuring alongside Ronaldo against Toulouse. Whether the move rejuvenates his career or accelerates his decline remains to be seen. The 25-year-old faces growing pressure to prove that his talent still holds value on the pitch.
Chelsea are still on the hunt for another striker, despite already signing Liam Delap in time for the Club World Cup, but this is a transfer which may have to wait until further down the line this summer.
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Enzo Maresca’s forward line could look very different by the beginning of 2025/2026.
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Despite scoring in the Conference League final against Real Betis, helping Chelsea win their first major trophy under Maresca in the process, it has been a tough 2025 for Nicolas Jackson.
The Senegalese has scored just one Premier League goal this calendar year and suffered a real downturn in form beyond the turn of the year, combined with injuries and suspensions.
While Chelsea aren’t pushing Jackson out of the door, it is believed that they will listen to suitable offers, with Manchester United, Aston Villa, Inter Milan, and Atletico Madrid all expressing an interest recently (Simon Phillips).
His departure could also prove key to Chelsea making room for another prolific centre-forward after Delap, which is something Stamford Bridge officials are apparently keen to do.
One name has dominated the headlines when it comes to BlueCo potentially bringing in another new number nine – Eintracht Frankfurt star Hugo Ekitike.
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike
Chelsea have held talks with Eintracht over a deal for Ekitike, and even mooted the possibility of players going the other way in a part-exchange.
The Frenchman is also said to be very keen on a move to west London (Simon Phillips), but the sticking point throughout this saga has been Ekitike’s lofty £84 million asking price.
The 22-year-old is fresh off the back of an electric campaign, scoring 22 goals and assisting 12 others in all competitions, which has prompted his side to stand firm over a sky-high price in negotiations so far.
However, according to TEAMtalk, Chelsea may not have to go that high after all.
Chelsea believe £65 million Hugo Ekitike could rival Alexander Isak
As per their information, the club’s recruitment team hold a genuine belief that Ekitike will end up rivaling Newcastle United star Alexander Isak, with Chelsea making him a “high-priority” target as a result.
Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike
It is also believed that £65 million could even be enough for Chelsea to sign Ekitike this summer, and their public £84 million valuation is merely “posturing” in an attempt to look strong during negotiations.
The report adds that Chelsea have been in direct contact with the former PSG striker’s camp, echoing other media sources, but the complexity of this deal means this could be one that remains ongoing for a while yet.
In any case, he is clearly highly-rated within Cobham, not to mention the rest of the footballing world.
“I might say something really crazy, but I’ll say it anyway: I think he’s a mix between Neymar and [Kylian] Mbappé. I sincerely think so,” said former Netherlands star Wesley Sneijder.
“He has the grace of Neymar, but also the movements of Mbappé. To suddenly accelerate, that’s something that Mbappé also has. And he’s only 22 years old. There’s really a lot of potential in this boy.”
Reports suggest the Brazilian club is willing to pay up to $14 million for the player, but his priority is a move to Europe
Palmeiras has reportedly opened talks with Toluca
Marcel Ruiz’s priority is a move to Europe
He will play the Leagues Cup with Los Diablos
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WHAT HAPPENED?
Palmeiras has reportedly submitted a multi-million dollar offer for Marcel Ruiz, the current Toluca midfielder and standout performer with the Mexican national team during the last Gold Cup. Despite the bid – believed to be around $14 million – journalist César Luis Merlo reported that Ruiz has no intention of leaving Mexican football for Brazil at this time.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Beyond the transfer speculation, Marcel Ruiz’s main goal is to move to European football – the only scenario in which he would consider leaving Toluca this summer. Unless an offer arrives from Europe, the midfielder is expected to stay with Los Diablos for at least one more tournament.
Following his strong performance in the Gold Cup, Ipswich Town from England’s second division made an offer, but Ruiz reportedly wasn’t interested in the move. The player is set to be part of Toluca’s roster for the upcoming Leagues Cup.
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WHAT ANTONIO MOHAMED SAID
“We hope he stays because he’s an extremely important player,” said the Argentine coach and reigning Liga MX champion. “We gave him limited minutes to manage his workload. The hope is that he remains with us – especially because, playing at this level and playing here, he has a better chance of making the World Cup squad.”
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WHAT NEXT FOR TOLUCA?
Mohamed’s team will make their Leagues Cup debut Tuesday against Columbus Crew at Lower.com Field.
It denied Healy a chance to test her readiness with the gloves after she had played the NZ series late last year only as a batter
Andrew McGlashan09-Jan-2025 Match abandonedAlyssa Healy was prevented from testing herself in the middle with the wicketkeeping gloves as the Governor-General match against England was abandoned after less than 29 overs due to rain in Sydney, while quick bowler Lauren Filer endured a difficult start to her Ashes tour with the ball as she repeatedly lost her footing in delivery.Australia captain Healy was using this match to test her readiness to return with the gloves after playing as a batter only against New Zealand late last year, but was only able to have a hit as she made a crisp 38 in a rapid opening stand of 91 with Georgia Voll who again impressed with a 38-ball half-century.After the game had been called off due to frequent stoppages, Healy had a 20-minute keeping session on the outfield with Australia’s coaching staff ahead of Sunday’s first ODI.Related
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Rain delayed the start after the toss had taken place and when play did begin, Filer struggled to keep her footing from the Scoreboard End and slipped four times before rain took the players off again.On resumption, Filer did not complete her opening over with Nat Sciver-Brunt bowling the final delivery. Filer later returned from the Fig Tree End but again kept slipping over in her delivery stride and finished with figures of 2.5-0-33-0.However, England coach Jon Lewis was not overly concerned by Filer’s difficulties saying it was something she often did at training as she powered through the crease and that the damp conditions made it additionally challenging.”It’s a very similar thing to what Mark Wood does,” Lewis said. “When your front foot lands, you are trying to get your front leg and to do that you pull your leg back…so if there’s nothing for you to grip against when you pull your leg then you tumble. It was little bit greasy out there so wasn’t ideal for her, but we hope the wicket on Sunday will be a little less grassy and a bit drier.”Lauren Filer lost her footing a number of times in her delivery stride•Getty Images
While groundstaff were working on the take-off area during Filer’s opening over there was a lengthy chat between the England players at the umpires and Lewis conceded conditions had not been ideal.”There’s always a risk when it’s a little bit wet,” he said. “Was I uncomfortable, probably not, was I comfortable probably somewhere in the middle between the two things. Again, it was important to try and get some overs into our bowlers in this game.”Lewis was confident Filer wouldn’t be affected by the struggles of her first bowl in the middle on a tour where her pace had been viewed as providing a cutting edge to England’s attack”She’s pretty confident with where she’s at,” Lewis said. “She bowled well down pace there for what she would normally bowl because it was quite hard to stand up. When you are a bowler and it’s hard to stand up it’s not easy to put the ball where you want it because you are running in at 20kph an hour and trying to land a ball in a really small space.”Whether Filer plays the opening ODI may come down to the fitness of Kate Cross, who didn’t featured in the warm-up game and instead bowled out at Cricket Central, following the back spasms that curtailed her tour of South Africa. Lewis said they would have a clearer picture of her availability in the next couple of days and also played down the significance of the warm-up match being truncated.”We’d have liked to have played more cricket, [but] we can’t control the weather,” he said. “We’ll front up on Sunday, the players are ready, we’ve played a lot of cricket over the last four or five months since the World Cup, through South Africa…so they’ve come here and it feels like they’ve hit the ground running so we feel like we’re in a pretty good space.”The forecast for the next couple of days in Sydney is for further showers which may impact the preparations of both sides.
Scottish boss Russell Martin has plenty of things to deal with early on in his tenure as Glasgow Rangers’ new head coach ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
The former Southampton manager has to build a squad that can challenge for the Scottish Premiership title, and has already had Lyall Cameron added to his midfield options.
However, Martin will also have to deal with the prospect of some of his best players moving on from Ibrox if teams come in with big-money offers for them during the summer transfer window.
Fiorentina and Marseille are reportedly keen on Nicolas Raskin, who is valued at £20m by the 49ers, and up to six English teams are said to be eyeing up Mohamed Diomande ahead of a possible swoop for his services.
Nicolas Raskin
The Light Blues are no stranger to cashing in on their top talents over the years, though, as players have moved on from Glasgow to pursue other options in Europe many times in recent seasons.
One deal that the Scottish giants hit the jackpot with, though, was the sale of Joe Aribo to then-Premier League side Southampton in the summer of 2022.
Why Rangers hit the jackpot with Joe Aribo
The Nigeria international was a terrific player for Rangers during his time at Ibrox, having spent three years at the club after joining from Charlton in the summer of 2019.
Aribo racked up 26 goals and 25 assists in 149 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues in those three seasons, and his final goal contribution was a goal in the Europa League final against Eintracht Frankfurt.
The left-footed star’s form for Rangers attracted attention from down south and he sealed a move to then-Premier League outfit Southampton in the summer of 2022.
A reported fee of £10m was agreed between the two clubs for the attacking midfielder, who was reportedly being eyed up by other teams in the English top-flight, and that has turned out to be a brilliant deal for the Gers.
Date
Market valuation
July 2022
Reported £10m deal
November 2022
£12.8m
June 2023
£9.4m
October 2023
£6.8m
December 2023
£5.1m
May 2024
£4.2m
December 2024 – present
£5.1m
Valuations via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, Aribo’s value has plummeted down to just £5.1m, as per Transfermarkt, in the three years since the midfield star decided to move on from Ibrox.
The 28-year-old, who has scored nine goals and provided one assist in 109 games for Southampton, has not kicked on during his spell in England, which suggests that the Gers hit gold with the deal they got for him in 2022.
Rangers could repeat that masterclass this summer amid speculation that another one of their forwards could leave the club in the coming weeks.
Rangers striker set to move on from Ibrox
According to Soccernet.ng, Cyriel Dessers is poised to complete a permanent exit from Rangers before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Nigeria international is ‘set’ to sign for Greek giants AEK Athens, after he ‘set sights’ on a move away from Ibrox ahead of next season.
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Soccernet.ng adds that the striker has already verbally agreed to sign for the Greek team and has mapped out a £30k-per-week contract to sign if the transfer goes through this summer.
The outlet reveals that the two teams still need to come to an agreement on a transfer fee for the player before a deal can be finalised, and it does not mention how much money it would take to get it done.
However, The Scottish Sun recently reported that the Gers are holding out for a fee of around £5m for the striker, who they paid £4.5m to Cremonese for in 2023.
If the Light Blues can agree a £5m deal to sell Dessers to AEK Athens, who Soccernet.ng claims is set to join them, then it could be an Aribo repeat.
Why Dessers could be an Aribo repeat
The 30-year-old number nine could follow in Aribo’s footsteps as another star performer who could decrease in value after leaving the Scottish giants.
His value has already dropped from £4.2m at the time of his Ibrox arrival to £3.4m at the time of writing (19/06/2025), as per Transfermarkt, which immediately suggests that a fee of £5m would be a great deal for Rangers.
That is in spite of a very respectable goalscoring return of 51 strikes in 109 matches for the Light Blues in all competitions over the past two seasons.
His value at AEK Athens, should a transfer go through this summer, could fall even further on Transfermarkt, despite a potential fee of £5m, because he may not have the chance to score as many goals.
The Greek side finished fourth in the Super League and only scored 48 goals, whilst Rangers finished second in the Premiership and scored 80 goals.
Cyriel Dessers (European comps + Premiership)
23/24
24/25
Appearances
47
46
Goals
21
18
Shots
110
103
Shots on target
52
51
Big chances missed
29
31
Assists
6
4
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Nigerian striker missed a staggering 60 ‘big chances’ in the Premiership, Europa League, and Champions League combined in his first two seasons at Ibrox.
Dessers, who journalist Josh Bunting claimed is “awkward” to play against due to his physicality, scored a decent number of goals for Rangers because he was in a team that was constantly creating chances for him, as evidenced by how many huge opportunities he spurned.
Rangers' CyrielDesserscelebrates scoring a goal that was later disallowed
Therefore, he may struggle to have the same impact in an AEK Athens team that did not create or score anywhere near as much as Rangers did in the 2024/25 campaign, which could expose his wasteful finishing in a side that does not create loads of ‘big chances’.
This means that Dessers’ output in front of goal could diminish as a result of signing for the Greek side, which is why his value could also plummet as a result of the move, particularly now that the striker is also in his 30s and heading into his latter years.
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Selling the experienced forward to Athens for £5m, if a deal can be agreed at that price, could be an Aribo repeat for Rangers as another player whose value could plummet after leaving.