Accusations. Blame. Even death threats. This is just part of the hype swirling round Benfica's '99. Their wonderkid: Joao Felix.

While the lad they say is the best seen since Cristiano Ronaldo has focused on his football. Those close to him. Those who have worked with him. Managed him. They've been at eachother's throats. And all this for a 19 year-old who only made his first team debut this past August.

But the buzz. The excitement. Everything that is being said about Joao. For Portuguese football. For those working at Benfica. All this hype is justified.

Nuno Gomes, the former Benfica and Fiorentina striker, has likened the teen to Zinedine Zidane.

Gomes worked with Joao as a junior coach and says: "He is far superior to the average player in technical terms. And has an advantage that he thinks faster than many others. There's a lot of personality and a touch of the ball that reminds me of Zidane. The future will be his."

Another big name who's a fan is Thierry Henry. Before being sacked by AS Monaco, Henry would cut videos of Joao's play earlier this season and discuss the attacker with assistant Joao Tralhao, who had left Benfica after a trophy-laden career as youth coach.

"Whenever Joao would do something different, and fortunately it is in every game, Thierry [Henry] would send me videos and say: 'It was a mistake. We should have caught this guy earlier [laughs]'," recalls Tralhao.

"Of course he says so in jest. That's to say he's a star. When a person like Thierry, who is from another reality, recognises players like Joao Félix, I think it says it all."

As Tralhao says, you can understand Henry's excitement - indeed anyone's excitement - when seeing Joao in full flow.

"Joao is one of those players who you only need to look at him for two minutes to realise that he is different from the others," adds the ASM coach. "There's a way to be on the field that's different."

So Gomes. Henry. That's some bandwagon now being filled. And for those who have worked with Joao, like Tralhao, the buzz around the kid is justified. But what of those accusations? The death threats?

The accusations come from Benfica's great rivals Porto, where Joao was on the books for over six years before they - according to the player - cut him loose. A version of events disputed recently by former Porto youth coach Bino.

"Joao Felix was being paid by Porto," stated Bino. "But Benfica offered him much more than he was earning with Porto at the time."

The former Porto midfielder also took aim at Joao's attitude while he was part of their academy.

"Sometimes we are told that we have a lot of talent, we do not have to run a lot, because we think that talent will take us wherever we want to go," says Bino.

"There are moments in a career, and I think coaching is very important in that sense, when the player's ability isn't about playing, but to enter from the bench and to realise that he has to fight for a position, that not only talent takes you to other levels. It was a little bit of what was happening..."

Bino's comments quickly drew a response from a member of Joao's management team - which includes Ronaldo's agent, Jorge Mendes.

"A ridiculous interview from those who did not realise they were coaching a different player," snapped Pedro Cordeiro, the chief exec of SoccerPromaster.

"We cannot accept lightly that coaches, hitherto without a visible curriculum, are currently trying to justify technical advice from the past with opinions of the present influenced by their resentment and bitterness that has been retained."

So there! And those death threats?

Well, they were leveled at former Portugal defender Jorge Andrade, once of Deportivo La Coruna and Juventus. The popular ex-pro made the wrong call when commenting on how he'd handle facing Benfica's teenage whiz.

"If I still played, I would just give João Felix a stomp and there would be no more Joao Félix during the game. And then they would have to resort to another style of play," declared Andrade, tongue in cheek.

And of course, cue the outrage. The death threats. Not just to Andrade, but also to members of his family. Even racial slurs were thrown at him by members of the media.

Andrade would later issue the standard apology, insisting he was talking in the "context of when I played" and that "Joao Felix is a player I admire".

But this is the hype that Felix's performances is generating. Everything that is said about him. Whether it be positive or negative. Is being pored over. But while those around him are losing their minds, Joao hasn't lost his.

Bruno Lage, of Swansea City and Sheffield Wednesday fame, is now in charge of Benfica and has had no second thoughts leaning on Joao.

"He is determined, he goes onto the field as if he has always been playing with his teammates and is completely at ease," says Lage.

"I don't see him in the clouds, nor locked to the ground. I feel he has a very large will. He does not even look like an 18-year-old kid, but a man who feels comfortable and ready for what comes. He's growing, and it's important that we help him grow.

"But I feel he has mentality and maturity well above the average for his age."

Which is just as well, given the figures thrown around for his transfer. This week, Manchester United have been mentioned as £100m suitors. Real Madrid maintain a long-term interest. And Liverpool, where assistant coach Pep Ljinders is a fan, have made an enquiry.

"I'm not scared of the figures," says Joao, "nor the comparisons, because there are many clubs interested in me. I'm fortunate to be well managed."

And while the giants of England and Spain are sure to drive up Joao's asking price, it could be an Italian club - specifically Juventus - that Luiz Filipe Vieira, Benfica's president, ultimately ends up negotiating with.

"I dream of playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo because he is the best ever, an idol and an example for everyone. Playing with a 'monster' like him would allow me to evolve even more," says Joao before adding...

"And I'm also lucky to have the best agent in the world, Jorge Mendes."