Barcelona sign Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid
Barcelona have signed Joao Felix on loan from La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid for the rest of the 2023-24 season.
The 23-year-old has also penned a two-year extension with Atletico ahead of the switch to Camp Nou, tying him to the capital outfit until 2029.
Felix will spend the first of those years with the reigning Spanish champions Barcelona, having secured what earlier in the summer he described as a “dream” move on deadline day
The deal to take Felix to Camp Nou does not include any option or obligation to buy, meaning that he will return to his parent club on June 30.
The forward became the fourth-most expensive player of all time when he joined Atletico as a 19-year-old in 2019, and he has been a regular member of the team for most of his time at the Wanda Metropolitano
However, he fell out of favour with manager Diego Simeone last season, and his relationship with the Argentinian resulted in him spending the second half of 2022-23 on loan at Chelsea.
Felix scored four goals in 20 appearances during his time at Stamford Bridge, but was unable to prevent them from slumping to a bottom-half finish in the Premier League.
The attacker has scored 34 goals in 131 games for Atletico across all competitions, but has not featured in any of their matches so far this season.
Barcelona have now made four signings this summer despite their ongoing financial issues, bringing in Inigo Martinez, Oriol Romeu and Ilkay Gundogan as well as Felix, while the arrival of Joao Cancelo on loan from Manchester City is also thought to be imminent.
The Catalan giants are next in action away to Osasuna on Sunday, although Felix’s lack of football this season could see him forced to wait until after the international break to make his debut.
