Can Joao Felix play against Atletico Madrid?
Cameron Smith
- Updated: 3 Dec 2023 19:40 GMT
- 3 min read
Joao Felix’s Barcelona take on his parent club Atletico Madrid in a crucial LaLiga clash on Sunday night, but is the Portugal international eligible to play?
After seeking a transfer to Camp Nou all summer, Felix’s wish was granted on Transfer Deadline Day, when a season-long loan deal was agreed between the two clubs.
He has settled well at Barcelona and has four goals and three assists in 16 games for Xavi’s side.
Now, the Blaugrana host Atleti on Sunday evening and Felix is able to play.
While Premier League clubs are forbidden from using loan players against their parent club, that is not the case in Spain and it means that Felix is able to feature against Atletico Madrid.
An example of this was seen when Philippe Coutinho scored twice for Bayern Munich versus Barcelona in the Champions League, despite being employed by the Spanish giants. Bayern won the game 8-2 and dumped Barcelona out of the competition.
What has Felix said?
Felix has not shied away from the media in the build-up to the game and has, in fact, admitted that he enjoys playing under Xavi more than Diego Simeone. “For sure [I prefer] this style [at Barcelona] - me and every player,” Félix told ESPN.
"If you ask every player, if you ask the players from Atlético, too, they would prefer to play more time on the attack, for sure. If they don't answer that, they are lying. Of course every player wants to attack, wants to have the ball and to score goals.
“It's a special game for me,” the Barca loanee added. "Atlético was my home for the last four years, so of course I [left] with some good moments there.
“It's always special to play against my old teammates. It will be good to see them again and to see how we play against them.
“I would say De Paul [is the player I am looking forward to playing against the most], because [on] the field he is so annoying.
“The last [few] years, I was on his team, so it's OK, but seeing him from the outside he is so annoying. I want to see how he will deal with me and how he will react.
“I am excited to see him on the field because outside he's [a] really good person. Now I want to see how it is to play against him.”
Kick-off at the Olimpic Lluis Companys is at 21:00 local time on Sunday.
