Trincão and João: Portugal team mates, rivals in Atlético v FC Barcelona

Atlético Madrid v Barça on Saturday in the Wanda Metropolitano will bring together some familiar faces likes those of Francisco Trincão and João Félix, two team mates in the Portuguese national side who will be on opposing teams in Madrid. 

In an interview with Catalan sports paper Mundo Deportivo, the Barça winger Trincão talked up his fellow Portuguese winger. "João Félix is a great player with a lot of qualities. Right now he is in great form. If Ronald Koeman asks me then I can give him some info on how to mark him," says the blaugrana number 17 with a smile. 

The two players both recently set new precedents in Portugal's recent game against Croatia. Trincão made his debut for the full national and João Félix scored his first ever international goal with the senior side. 

The game in the Wanda Metropolitano will not the first time the two players have come up against each other. In the 2018/19 season both players took part in a Braga v Benifica fixture in the Portuguese league with João Félix's Lisbon outfit taking all three points with a 4-1 away win. 

Trincão also recently shared a dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo, prompting inevitable questions about a comparison with Leo Messi. "The best thing about them both is that they always want to win and they do everything to achieve that. They are both great leaders and great at helping their team mates," says the young blaugrana. 

"Right now I can see Messi with real desire in training. I think we will be seeing Leo for a long while at Barça," adds Trincão in the run up the game against Atlético. 

Other familiar faces

Sergi Roberto and Sergio Busquets, the latter out of the game with a knee injury, recently shared a dressing room with several Atlético players on international duty with the Spanish national side. The likes of Koke and Marcos Llorente will go from team mates to opponents out there on the field on Saturday evening in Madrid.