How Chelsea can make more money on Joao Felix transfer

Carlo Garganese

Updated: 5 Feb 2025 09:29 GMT
3 min read

Chelsea loaned out Joao Felix for a fee of just €2m to AC Milan but the Blues can make more money on the attacker through conditional bonuses.

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Felix completed a Deadline Day loan transfer to Milan with the deal only actually being made official on Tuesday.

Eyebrows were raised at how Chelsea were prepared to loan out a player they signed for €52m last summer for such a small fee.

However, Gazzetta dello Sport reports that Chelsea can earn up to an extra €2.5m in bonuses if Milan qualify for the Champions League and win a trophy.

The Rossoneri are currently eighth in Serie A and have a lot of work to do to achieve Champions League qualification. However, they are in the last 24 of the Champions League this season, as well as the quarter final of the Coppa Italia.

Milan will pay the salary of Joao Felix but they do not have the option to make his loan permanent when it expires at the end of the season.

Chelsea decided to offload Felix after a disappointing season at Stamford Bridge.

The 25-year-old joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid for a whopping €52 million in August, with the Blues only agreeing a deal in order to ensure Conor Gallagher moved in the opposite direction.

However, Felix mustered three Premier League starts, amid competition from Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku.

As a result both player and club decided that a move away in January would be the best solution.

The Rossoneri were in the market for a left-sided attacker who can also play in a front two, and moved for Felix after a transfer for their first target Marcus Rashford fell through.

New Milan manager Sergio Conceicao knows Felix well from Portuguese and also believes that he is well suited to playing in a front two.

Conceicao plans to switch to a 4-4-2, which is his favoured system, and play Felix as one of the two attackers.