Barcelona manager Xavi has reportedly cleared the club to sign Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix.
The Blaugrana have long been linked with a move for Atletico Madrid forward Felix. Coach Xavi, however, was not completely on board with the idea and wanted to assess his options. According to Spanish journalist Gerard Romero, the Spaniard has now returned with a verdict, giving the club his approval to sign the wantaway attacker from Los Rojiblancos.
Barcelona will not sign Joao Felix in a permanent deal this summer
Earlier, it had been reported that Atletico did not want Felix to join La Liga rivals Barcelona. But over the last few weeks, it has become clear that the Portuguese has his heart set on Barca. So, possibly begrudgingly, Atletico have opened the floor to the Catalans.
According to Romero, Barcelona will sign Felix on a season-long loan from Atletico and will not have the option to make his stay permanent next summer. The report does not mention a loan fee, but it claims that the Spanish champions will cover the entirety of Felix’s salary. This will be the 23-year-old’s second consecutive loan spell away from Atletico, with him also spending the second half of the 2022-23 season on loan at Chelsea.
Felix, who is one of the most versatile forwards in the world, has little opportunity to shine at Atletico. Since joining from Benfica in July 2019, Felix has played 131 games across competitions, scoring 34 times and providing 18 assists.
Felix’s registration could be a tricky ordeal
Adding a player of Felix’s caliber would undoubtedly improve Barcelona’s squad. However, to do so, they need to shuffle their pack and figure out a way to register him. As of now, they have not managed to register three of their first-team players, Marco Alonso, Inaki Pena, and Inigo Martinez. Signing Felix before registering the three in question is probably not the wisest move. Additionally, Joao Cancelo’s transfer from Manchester is also believed to be a done deal, meaning the Blaugrana will have to make room for the fullback as well.
The entire complication can be solved with a hefty injection of funds, which is expected to arrive from Libero Football Finance. The club sold a 9.7% stake in Barca Vision to the German firm earlier in August and are currently awaiting a sizable €40 million ($43.23 million) in payments.
