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Joao Felix is one of the big names that were expected in the winter transfer market. And if the Portuguese wanted to change air, it is because he has difficulty in finding himself in the system of play of Diego Simeone. From now on, he can breathe a little, since it is Graham Potter who is already on the hot seat that is his new coach.
Joao Felix and Atletico Madrid, it is an adventure that will be written in at least two phases. Since the first one that corresponds to his signature until his transfer to Chelsea has just ended. The Portuguese is no longer a Madrid player, at least until next summer. Instead, he will play for Chelsea until the end of the season. So he leaves on loan and without an option to buy, despite the attempts of the London club to include him. Thus, the Blues will pay the player’s salary and, in addition, will pay an amount of about eight million euros for the loan of the Portuguese who will return to Atleti this summer with a contract until 2027, since he extended it for another year before leaving for the Premier League.
Indeed, Joao Felix has just made a momentary farewell to Atletico with the match against Barça. The 23-year-old striker who arrived at the Metropolitano in 2019, after the departure of Griezmann to Barça and as the most expensive recruit in the history of the club (127 million) has therefore found no way out of his situation. But with the Reds and Whites, he played 131 games, starts (84) and substitutions (47), brilliant moments with others, more gray, and several injuries that slowed him down when he was about to take off. In total, he contributed 34 goals and 16 assists. But his relationship with Simeone was never the smoothest and the player understood that this limited him.
That’s why Joao Félix told the club of his desire to leave the team during the winter transfer window and Gil Marín himself verbalized his displeasure, directly alluding to the complicated relationship between the player and the coach: “I’d like him to continue, but this is not his idea. The reasonable thing to do is to think that he will leave”, commented the CEO on December 6, while João Félix was participating in the World Cup.
Thus, the club agreed to open the door for him to leave, but it was clear to him that he was not going to sell his big bet of late. There was no question of transferring Felix for less than 100 million, a large amount that, especially in the winter market, is difficult to achieve for any club. There were teams interested, but no concrete offer. Thus, Atletico also opened the way to a loan, always with financial compensation from the destination club, which also had to pay the salary, which Chelsea accepted.
