João Felix is desperate to move to Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid are preparing well for the new season. They brought back Antoine Griezmann on a free transfer, signed Charlie Sowinski and Cesar Aspilicueta on free agency, sold Mateusz Cunha to Wolverhampton Wanderers for over €700 million, and sold Henan Roddy and Jeffrey Kondogbia to raise funds.
온라인바카라But there’s one player whose future is still up in the air. In the summer of 2019, Atletico spent a staggering €127.2 million to bring Felix to the club to fill the void left by the ‘ace’ Griezmann, a figure that still stands at the top of the world transfer record books.
There were a lot of expectations and a lot of opportunities. He was still young and in a different league, so Atletico had to be patient and wait for him to break through.
But it was in vain. Felix never rebounded. In three-and-a-half seasons, his stats are 131 games, 34 goals and 18 assists. He showed some signs of life in 2021-22, but it was short-lived, and he lost his job in 2022-23 and was reduced to a rotation player. Felix was unhappy with his position and expressed it publicly. This led to rumors of a falling out with head coach Diego Simeone, and he moved to Chelsea on a “loan” during the winter transfer window.
Felix was happy at Chelsea. Four goals in 20 games, including cup competitions. He didn’t have a lot of attacking points per se, but he did show flashes of brilliance with his fluid movements. Playing under less pressure also increased his happiness.
He considered staying at Chelsea. According to British outlet Team Talk, Felix said, “I don’t know about my future. But I was very happy for four or five months. Chelsea is the best club. Everyone here is really good to me. My teammates are unbelievable. I love it here,” he said, expressing his satisfaction with life at Chelsea.
However, it was not to be. Mauricio Pochettino didn’t have Felix in his plans, so he returned to Atletico.
Upon his return, he was immediately at the center of controversy. He made some unflattering comments. According to European football transfer market expert Fabrizio Romano, he said, “Barcelona has always been my first choice. I want to join Barcelona, it’s been my dream to play there since I was a kid. If the transfer goes through, it will be a dream come true.” This was enough to upset Atletico fans and officials.
He then actively pursued a move to Barcelona and, according to leading Italian journalist Niccolo Skira, even reached an agreement in principle with the Catalans. The Saudis and others also approached him, but Felix’s only goal was to move to Barcelona. “Felix told his agent, Jorge Mendes, to reject any offers from anywhere other than Barcelona,” said Spanish outlet Sport. Barcelona will soon offer Atletico a loan move. They will not pay rent, but will subsidize all his weekly wages.”