'Unattainable' Joao Felix is giving Barcelona a major headache
Tom Weber
- Updated: 9 Dec 2023 15:18 GMT
- 3 min read
Atletico Madrid's asking price for Joao Felix is proving a major issue for Barcelona.
The Portuguese has recaptured his early-season form and is once again shining for the Blaugrana. In a typical it-just-had-to-be-him moment, he notched the winner as Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid and even celebrated, illustrating yet again that there is no love lost between him and his parent club.
In the summer, Felix had publicly expressed his desire to join Barcelona to force a move away from Madrid. He got his wish when the Blaugrana managed to snap him up on loan, though they had to forego adding a buy option into his deal because of Financial Fair Play concerns - and this is a big problem.
The Blaugrana are keen for Felix to stay on board permanently, but the 24-year-old won't come cheap; after all, he is Atletico Madrid's record signing. The capital club are keen to recoup a decent chunk of their original €127 million outlay and Barcelona quite simply can't afford him.
Barcelona want a bargain
Barcelona's financial concerns are forcing them to go bargain-hunting in the transfer market and, as things stand, Felix would be anything but a bargain. It has been known for a few weeks that, to make a deal permanent, the Catalans would have to shell out as much as €80m, which is just not possible.
The latest news coming out of Spain makes for grim reading for Blaugrana fans. Previously, it was said that Barcelona would be prepared to offer €40m for Felix and that anything above would be simply unattainable.
However, journalist Javi Miguel now asserts that even this fee is outside of the financial possibilities of the club. Instead, he claims that the most Barcelona could muster would be an offer between €20m and €25m, some €55m-60m short of Atleti's valuation. As things stand, it is highly unlikely that Barcelona will be able to retain Joao Felix permanently.
