There would appear to be little doubt that Atletico Madrid are still smarting from the revelation that their player, Joao Felix, wants to join Barcelona, and reliable journalist, Fabrizio Romano, has a clear idea of Barca’s current position.
It was Romano who broke the news via Twitter after speaking with the player.
? EXCLUSIVE — João Félix statement on his future: “I’d love to play for Barça”.
? “Barcelona has always been my first choice and I’d love to join Barça”.
? “It was always my dream since I was a kid”.
? “If it happens, it will be a dream come true for me”. pic.twitter.com/3zg9BiCDgO
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 18, 2023
It was a very strong statement from the Portuguese star and one could even go as far as to suggest that it was incredibly disrespectful to his current employers.
What it does do of course is put the player in an incredibly weak position if the Catalans don’t end up placing a bid for him, and one could imagine that the last thing Atleti would want to do is have him start in Diego Simeone’s first La Liga XI in the 2023/24 season.
That could well end up being the situation, with Romano making clear what Barcelona’s current position is.
‘It’s not something happening today or tomorrow. It will take lot of time to see what happens between Barça and Joao Felix,’ he wrote in his exclusive CaughtOffside Substack.
‘Now for Barça is not possible to proceed due to financial situation, but Joao will wait for them also in the next weeks. Numbers on Atlético side are not clear yet, but again – it will take time.’
With a few weeks left until the summer transfer window closes there is still time for a deal to be sealed, however, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Felix left in the shadows on the red and white half of Madrid by the start of the new campaign.
Where that would leave him going forward is anyone’s guess because surely questions will be asked as to why the club might be willing to get rid of a player that cost them over €100m just four years ago in any event.