The 'saga' surrounding the future of João Félix has finally come to an end! The 24-year-old forward will not join FC Barcelona for a second consecutive year as his new football destination has been confirmed. The Viseu native is now a confirmed signing for Chelsea FC, the team he was on loan with during the second half of the 2022/23 season and now joins permanently. He has signed a contract that, according to the London-based club, extends over seven seasons, until 2031.
The forward, who will join the 'Pensioners' for training in the coming days, expressed his joy at returning to the 'Blue' side and eagerness to get started. He also mentioned, "I loved my time here and told my friends and family that I would love to return to the Premier League someday. Doing it with Chelsea is an incredible feeling, and I am excited to be back."
The reasons that complicated the potential union between João Félix and FC Barcelona
With this, a case that kept Atlético de Madrid on edge, a club that did not count on him in their sporting project and wanted to offload him, as well as other teams interested in signing him this summer, has come to an end. One of them seemed to be FC Barcelona; however, the conditions surrounding this negotiation made it very difficult to finalize for the Barça side, starting mainly with the fact that the 'Colchoneros' did not agree with Barcelona's plans to acquire the player.
The Blaugranas wanted to acquire him through a loan, while the 'Rojiblancos' wanted to transfer him, as they did with Chelsea, who committed to pay €50 million for the transfer, plus another €10 million if certain variables are met. With that, Simeone's team would reach the €60 million they were asking to let him go this summer.
Since Barcelona was not in a position to match that transfer fee, the sporting conditions also did not seem to favor the Portuguese forward. Why? João Félix, who was expected to play as an attacking midfielder, saw Barcelona sign Dani Olmo, a player who occupied that exact role. Furthermore, both Pedri González and Fermín López were also in that position, making his competition in that area of the field difficult.
Where he might have fought for a position was as a left winger, but his style of play may not fit what Barcelona was looking for, as they preferred a player who is dynamic and skilled in dribbling down that wing. That doesn't seem to be the forte of the Portuguese, who tends to drift more centrally when playing as a winger, taking on more creative duties and leaving the left flank free for the full-back to exploit.
Will the Portuguese find his best version at Chelsea?
It remains to be seen how the forward will fare in his new adventure at Chelsea FC, as he is known to be a top-class player with creativity akin to the best when in form. However, he is known to be inconsistent and easily disconnect from games, a weakness that the coach of the London side, Enzo Maresca, and his technical team will have to work on correcting, with the aim of maximizing the qualities of the talented player.