Barcelona are going to have a hectic transfer window despite their assurances that they won’t sign any big players. Their financial situation means that they are going to have a tough time even keeping some of their players. These include the two loan players, Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo.
Both of them arrived this season on season long loan deals and have massively helped the Catalans as well. They both want to stay and the club has the same feeling. But while Cancelo will be quite cheap, it seems Felix will be harder to get.
Is Joao Felix staying at Barcelona?
Joao Felix was an outcast at Atletico Madrid and took a significant pay cut to come to Barcelona last summer. Now that he is here in Barcelona, he has really impressed for them and there is a possibility of him permanently staying.
Atletico Madrid President Enrique Cerezo recently spoke about the player and hinted at his willingness to sell him. His exact words were, “Joao Felix wants to stay at Barça, it’s normal. Barcelona wants him and he wants it. He’s a magnificent, great player. He’s fit in well.”
🔴⚪️ Atlético president Cerezo: "Joao Félix wants to stay at Barça, it's normal. Barcelona wants him and he wants it".
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) April 7, 2024
"He's a magnificent, great player. He’s fit in well. I don't know how much Atléti would get at this stage in terms of amount of money". pic.twitter.com/ACcb983qKp
However, he did not talk about the finances involving such a deal: “I don’t know how much Atléti would get at this stage in terms of amount of money.” Reports suggest the Madrid based club would demand at least €80 million for the player to recoup some of the €130 million they had paid Benfica back in 2019. Such an amount may not be accepted by the Catalans, who would try to lower it as much as possible.
There is also talk and even a confirmation from Barcelona President Joan Laporta that they will attempt another seasonal loan deal for the player. But Atletico are likely to reject unless a mandatory purchase option is included in any deal.
Joao Felix 2023-24 season with Barcelona in numbers
Joao Felix has had some good patches of form at Barcelona but has not been really consistent for them. With other players in the squad such as Ferran Torres, Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal, among others, he has had a hard time permanently hold down a starting spot.
Nevertheless, he has played in 35 games all season, with 23 of them in the league. He has scored 9 goals and assisted 6 times in those games, which are pretty average numbers. While he is nowhere near the level expected of him, he is still a good backup option to keep for the Catalans. But he must start to put in performances or else his continuity at Barcelona will be in doubt.
Whether he stays permanently or not remains to be seen in the summer transfer window. For now, he will focus on Barcelona’s next game, which is against Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal clash on Wednesday.
