As Barcelona gears up for a crucial La Liga showdown on Sunday, coach Xavi Hernandez has counselled Joao Felix to draw motivation from the criticism levelled by his ex-Atletico Madrid teammates.
The Portuguese forward, currently on loan at Barcelona from Atletico Madrid, faced difficulty in convincing coach Diego Simeone during his four-year tenure in the Spanish capital.
Atletico playmaker Antoine Griezmann this week said Felix lacked ‘consistency’ or ‘got tired’ of finding it, while midfielder Saul Niguez also said Felix had plenty to improve on.
Simeone, on Saturday, chose not to comment on the forward, stating that discussions were inappropriate since the player was no longer with the club, even though he technically remains an Atletico player.
‘(The criticism) should be extra motivation against Atletico,’Xavi told reporters Saturday.
‘I see he is motivated and happy, he is being consistent, I am happy with his performance and how he has adapted to the group.’
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Barcelona’s summer loan deal included Atletico’s record 126 million euro ($137 million) signing, who, despite a strong start, faced challenges as time progressed.
Joao Felix found the net for the first time in 13 matches against Porto on Tuesday, aiding Barcelona’s successful qualification for the Champions League last 16.
The win played a role in calming the negative sentiments surrounding the club following a series of lackluster performances, and Xavi is hopeful they can carry this positive energy into the match against Atletico.
‘We have to find our game, the second half against Porto was very good … we have to be more consistent,’ said the coach.
‘We can’t say we’re in our best moment of the season, (but) we have had some very good minutes.’
‘In principle Barcelona and Madrid start with more chance of winning, but in recent times we’ve cut the gap,’ said the coach.
‘This is about deeds and not words, and we will keep working to keep cutting into it.’