Joao Felix has started his life at FC Barcelona with a bang. The Portuguese international was able to announce himself to the Cules with his very first start at the club, as he opened his scoring account against Real Betis and then went on to score another two goals against Royal Antwerp.
While he has somewhat slowed down in the following matches, Barcelona are still convinced about his quality and want to ensure that the player can remain in Catalonia for a long time.
The Catalans still have almost a full year to arrive at a strategy to retain Felix beyond his loan period while keeping in view the limited maneuvering space they are afforded by their finances.
Atletico aware of increasing Felix value
However, the Catalans have already started working on this operation, and Felix also wants to remain in the Catalan club and has also publicly declared that he feels comfortable at his new club.
Meanwhile, as Mundo Deportivo reports, Atletico Madrid are also monitoring Felix with full attention and are aware that the value of their loanee is increasing as he continues to contribute to Barcelona’s goals.
Enrique Cerezo, the Atletico President, recently reminded everyone that while Felix will want to remain at Barcelona, he is still owned by the Mattress Makers, and that too until 2029. He will also not be sold cheaply as Atletico want to minimize their losses on the €127 million they spent on the player.
Three possible alternatives for Barcelona
The current loan is very advantageous for Barcelona but is valid only for this season, and Barcelona and Atletico will have to come to the negotiation table once again in the future. The Mattress Makers estimate his value to be around €80 million.
However, Barcelona would not find it easy to spend this amount and would look for another loan, this time paying Felix’s full salary and a €10 million loan fee to Atletico. Another possible way for Barcelona could be to pay Atletico Madrid in installments, and eventually pay the amount that Atletico Madrid has in mind.
Atletico Madrid will try to complete this operation as soon as possible so the matter is not dragged to the last days of the transfer window, which led to a loss for the Capital club in the last summer window.
