Transfer Centre

Barcelona 'reach agreement with Atletico Madrid to sign Joao Felix'

By Andrew Delaney, Reporter | 01 September 2023

Barcelona 'reach agreement with Atletico to sign Joao Felix'

Joao Felix is reportedly close to signing for Barcelona, after the Spanish champions agreed terms with Atletico Madrid over the loan signing of the Portugal international.

Barcelona have reportedly reached an agreement to sign Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.

Felix has not featured since returning to the Spanish capital after spending six months on loan at Chelsea last season.

The player also missed training today ahead of Atletico's clash with Sevilla on Sunday, with the club citing personal reasons for his absence.

Now, Marca claims that Barca and Atletico have an agreement in place which will see the Portugal international join the Spanish champions.

Barcelona's very tight financial restraints means that they needed to get the green light from La Liga to go ahead with the deal.

The report states that the club have clearance to go ahead with the deal, structuring it in a way that will still see them comply with Financial Fair Play rulings.

With Felix unhappy in Madrid, it appeared that he would be forced to stay with the club, given the lack of interest from Europe's elite clubs.

Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix pictured on August 15, 2022 © Reuters

Aston Villa reportedly enquired about his services, but Felix is believed to have had no interest in playing for a club not in the Champions League.

Ansu Fati's move to Brighton & Hove Albion has opened up a space in the Barca squad for another attacker, and it appears that Felix will come in to fill it.

After bursting onto the scene with Benfica in 2018-19, scoring 20 goals in his debut season, Felix has never quite hit the same heights.

An astronomical £113m deal saw Felix move to Atletico, but he has failed to hit double figures in a league season since.

Three-and-a-half years of frustrations in Madrid saw Felix move to Chelsea on loan last season, where he was sent off on his debut against Fulham.

However, despite playing in a Chelsea team which underperformed massively, Felix still netted four goals in the following 15 games, but the Premier League club opted not to go back in for the player.