Barcelona Manager Xavi Hernandez has dodged further questions on Atletico Madrid star Joao Felix, as his future remains unclear going into the final stages of the transfer window.
The Portuguese star is keen to exit Atletico, and Los Rojiblancos are keen to remove his wages, with him out of the starting team. Meanwhile Barcelona President Joan Laporta has publicly expressed his admiration for Felix, with the two tied together by Agent Jorge Mendes.
🚨 Barcelona know Atlético Madrid's demands for João Félix: paying 100% of the player's salary and pay a loan fee. Those are the conditions, and Barça have not yet reached that. If they up their offer, a deal may be possible. The forward is willing to wait until the end.… pic.twitter.com/Ou0y98st1E
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 18, 2023
The latest was that Barcelona and Atletico are in talks over a loan move for Felix, but when asked about him, Xavi did not give any more clues.
“I’m sorry, but as with Neymar the other day, I can’t talk about names. The sports area is aware of what we consider best and necessary. I can’t advance anything. We’ll see if we can do things and to what extent.”
Meanwhile Ruben Uria has explained that Atletico Madrid will not budge on their demands. They will not accept making a loss on Felix this year, and want his wages and the ammortisation from his tranfer fee covered. They are open to various formulas in terms of options to buy and obligations to buy.
João. El Barça ofrece cesión+tarifa préstamo de 6 M€. No llega a lo que el Atleti pide. Si suben esa cantidad, se podría hacer. Abiertos a negociar cesión con ODC o cesíón +compra posterior, pero no van a regalar al jugador, ni perderán un € este año.https://t.co/n1XiHxHz0f
— Rubén Uría (@rubenuria) August 18, 2023
Marca say that the ammortisation is around €15m for the season, while MD put it at €10m, but Barcelona would have to offer his full wages plus that fee. The deal would thus cost €18-22m for a season-long loan, depending on which is closer to the fee.
Uria says that currently are at €6m plus his wages, meaning they would have to up their offer by minimum €4m.
💣🚨| BREAKING: Atletico Madrid does not consider any more departures other than João Félix, unless an irresistible offer arrives.
[🎖️: Isaac Suárez, @marca]
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 18, 2023
The other aspect of this is that Barcelona must contend with their salary limit, and the higher the fee, the less likely they are to be able to green light a deal.
Equally, Sporting Director Deco and President Joan Laporta must convince Xavi of his utility. Reportedly the Barcelona coach does not see him as a starter for his side, and given he has struggled to make the grade at Chelsea and Atletico, there is little evidence to suggest he would at Barcelona.
