Barcelona make decision on Joao Felix as he enters final six months of loan from Atletico Madrid - Reports
Barcelona have reached a decision on the situation of Portuguese forward Joao Felix, who is on loan at the club from Atletico Madrid. The attacker has enjoyed a good spell with the Spanish champions and has impressed the club's manager and the rest of the team.
Felix fell out of love with playing for Atletico Madrid, as he felt that his playing style and ability were stifled at the club. He spent the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea, but the English side deemed a permanent move for him to be too expensive.
Joao Felix moved to Barcelona on transfer deadline day almost as an afterthought for the club, as the side has lost Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele. The 24-year-old immediately became a key player for Xavi's side, and has had a hand in nine goals this season.
La Blaugrana have been happy with the forward so far, and now intend to keep him beyond the end of his loan move. He signed with them on a season-long loan deal, and is in the final six months of his deal with the La Liga champions.
Felix has delivered goals against both Real Madrid and his parent club Atletico Madrid, and is one of the first names on the team sheet at Barcelona. The club want him to remain with them beyond the expiration of his current deal, but cannot afford his transfer fee.
Jorge Mendes, agent to Felix, has proposed that the Catalan giants keep his client for another year on a new loan deal, as per Diario Sport. That way, they would not have to break the bank to have him in their squad for 2024-25.
Felix already made a huge sacrifice to play for Barcelona, as he is set to earn only €400,000 this season. The forward looks happy and unencumbered in Catalonia, and will, in all probability, like to remain there.
Barcelona keen to keep Joao Felix under right conditions
Poor financial decisions in recent years means that Barcelona are in no place to spend as heavily as they did for many years in the past. The Spanish champions have been forced to cut down their on spending with their financial powers considerably diminished.
The club have enjoyed the time spent by Joao Felix with them, and would like to keep him. The issue is that they have other pressing issues in their squad to take care of and cannot spend heavily on Felix.
Atletico Madrid are not expected to pose a problem to a potential move for Joao Felix, and a new loan deal will be good for all parties. The Blaugrana can then try to sign him permanently after the 2024-25 season, if they so wish.