FC Barcelona Agreed To Sign Joao Felix

FC Barcelona agreed to sign Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid, according to a report.

The deal was struck in the January transfer window of 2022, according to AS, but it never came off due to Barca’s struggles to navigate Financial Fair Play rules.

Muguel Angel Gil from the Spanish capital club and Barca’s sporting director Mateu Alemany led negotations, it said.

They agreed on an initial €70mn ($75mn) fee for the Portuguese forward, but the total cost of the deal could have almost doubled and reached up to €135mn ($144.7mn) with added bonuses and if certain targets were reached.

Had the transfer been allowed to happen, it would have represented a profit for Atleti who paid €126mn ($135mn) for him from Benfica in 2019.

The 23-year-old has since failed to gel at the Metropolitano, and adapt to head coach Diego Simeone’s style of play.

This led to him joining Chelsea on loan until the end of the season last month, with the west Londoners paying €11mn ($11.8mn) to use him in the Champions League and their bid to qualify for the competition next term.

Felix has made an impressive start to life at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea have an option to buy him permanently.

In the case they pass, however, Atleti are said to have him tied down to a recently-renewed contract until 2027.

Losing out on Felix was a missed opportunity for Barca, who instead signed Ferran Torres for a fee of €55mn ($59mn) from Manchester City in the same window at the turn of 2022.

Like Felix at Atleti, Torres has not made the desired impact at Camp Nou and is currently Xavi Hernandez’s third or fourth choice winger in a four-man midfield system where there is only space for one widemen.

This has usually been Ousmane Dembele until the Frenchman picked up a thigh knock and paved the way for Raphinha to shine in La Liga and on the continent.

On Thursday, the Brazilian scored and provided an assist in a thrilling 2-2 draw with Manchester United in the Europa League, and is likely to get the nod against Cadiz at home on Sunday.