Diego Simeone Open To FC Barcelona Buying Joao Felix From Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has opened the door to FC Barcelona trying to sign his winger Joao Felix in an interview on Spanish radio station COPE.

Simeone appeared on the station’s El Partidazo de COPE programme late on Thursday night and was broached on the future of his most expensive player.

Felix was bought for a fee of €126 million ($135.6 million) from Benfica in 2019 by Atleti but is currently on loan at Chelsea.

With Mauricio Pochettino replacing Graham Potter in the dugout at Stamford Bridge, however, it seems that the Blues will not attempt to make the temporary deal permanent which could put Felix on the market again.

“Joao is our player. If Chelsea don’t want to sign him, as Pochettino seems to have decided, he will have to come back and he will be part of our team,” Simeone insisted when discussing the Portuguese’s plight.

“He has enormous quality. It will be however he wants it to be. He is an Atletico Madrid player, I am compatible and I have no problem with anyone. He has always shown quality,” Simeone added, despite reports to the contrary that he and the 23-year-old have clashed in the past.

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As for a potential sale, Simeone said: “We have to see if Joao’s departure for the club is good economically, and that’s not where I come in.”

In past transfer windows, Barca have been linked to Felix with their president Joan Laporta a known admirer of the forward represented by Laporta’s super agent associate Jorge Mendes.

Simeone communicated that Felix would be an “important player” at Camp Nou because of the way the Catalans play under Xavi Hernandez.

But whether Atleti and Felix are both willing to entertain the potential coup or not, Barca’s finances are a different matter entirely.

Not known to sell to Barca on the cheap as seen with past transactions for players including Antoine Griezmann, Atleti would look to recoup a huge portion of the cash they shelled out for Felix.

Even if their asking price was, say, around €80 million ($86 million), the fee would be a tall order for the Blaugrana who are currently trying to convince La Liga they can make the numbers work on Lionel Messi’s potential return.

Furthermore, even if they were to have such money to hand, Barca and Xavi would probably prefer to go in for Felix’s international teammate Bernardo Silva at Manchester City instead.