There are only a few days left till Joao Felix’s loan period at FC Barcelona ends, and in the coming days, one of the decisions that the club will have to make is whether he is to continue playing in their colors for the next season.
Some previous reports on the topic suggest that Barcelona are looking to keep him for another season, but will do so with another loan, and not by buying the player permanently from Atletico Madrid.
The forward himself wants only to stay at Barcelona, and is expected to rule out joining any other side in order to increase his chances of staying at the Catalan club. His future will be determined by the agreement, or lack thereof, between all three parties involved: Barcelona, Felix, and Atletico Madrid.
The views of the Mattress Makers on this subject were made clear by their President, Enrique Cerezo, who, according to SPORT, talked to the media at the official presentation of the MadCup. Regarding the Portuguese forward, the Atletico Madrid President said:
“The situation is exactly the same as it was 15 days ago and 3 months ago. He is a player of Atlético de Madrid who is on loan at FC Barcelona. We don’t know what Barcelona’s response will be, and when we do, we will make the decisions we have to make.”
His comments show negotiations between the two clubs are already underway, and currently, the ball might be in Barcelona’s court to make a move for the forward. Furthermore, a meeting is scheduled between Barcelona Director, Deco, and the player’s agent, Jorge Mendes, in the coming days.
Atletico Madrid will be looking to offload the player this summer as it is clear that he has no place in Diego Simeone’s squad, and the Madrid club will also be looking to recoup a significant portion of the big investment it made on the player in 2019.