FC Barcelona are still interested in signing Joao Felix.
FC Barcelona are still interested in signing Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid.
The Portuguese arrived in La Liga from Benfica for a €126mn ($135mn) fee in 2019, as part of a transfer made possible when Barca paid the same amount for Atleti’s Antoine Griezmann.
While Griezmann has since returned to the Metropolitano, Felix is temporarily on his way out of the Spanish capital on the verge of finalizing a loan deal to Chelsea.
The Premier
According to SPORT on Wednesday, one of these is FC Barcelona. Felix is still one of the top wishes of president Joan Laporta, it is said, with the Catalans’ leader maintaining a healthy relationship with the player’s agent Jorge Mendes.
Recall that Barca came close to landing Felix in 2021 in a potential part-exchange deal involving Griezmann. This time round, when Felix has become available, the Blaugrana haven’t made an approach due to their struggles to navigate Financial Fair Play rules.
Barca could try and sign Felix in the next transfer window once he is set to don rojiblanco colors again, though.
Felix’s relationship with head coach Diego Simeone appears fractured, and it seems that one man will have to leave in order for harmony not to be disrupted in the locker room.
Laporta’s opposite number Enrique Cerezo had been resigned to letting Felix go in recent weeks, but he has also sent out mixed signals by reminding the media that the 23-year-old has a “long” contract with his club.
“Unless you (the media) tell me something different, the destination (of Joao) continues to be Atletico,” Cerezo said at the weekend.
“He is an Atletico player, he has a long contract and as far as I know I have not heard anything about anyone coming to buy him.”
Felix was last seen playing for Atleti in a 1-0 defeat against Barca on Sunday settled by Ousmane Dembele’s 22nd-minute winner.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/tomsanderson/2023/01/11/fc-barcelona-maintain-interest-in-signing-joao-felix/