FC Barcelona will wait for Atletico Madrid to secure the signing of Joao Felix, as they remember letting Antoine Griezmann leave for a price well below his market value.
The Frenchman was transferred permanently last summer for a fee of €20 million plus €4 million in variables, but with a purchase option of €40 million. This option would have been mandatory if Griezmann had played a certain percentage of minutes, but Atletico only used him as a substitute in the first matches of the season, proving to FC Barcelona that he was willing to go to great lengths to bring it to the negotiating table.
Today, Sport claims that FC Barcelona will look to repeat the feat with Joao Felix. The Portuguese has impressed FC Barcelona so far, but the Rojiblancos have set Felix’s price at €80 million, which the Blaugrana have no intention of paying. Felix, meanwhile, is determined to stay at Barcelona and would turn down a move to Saudi Arabia, his only other offer this summer. It is also highlighted that other players could enter the market, but the negotiations will likely be defined by Felix himself.
Atletico will then have to find a way to negotiate or simply absorb his salary for the coming year, with Felix and Diego Simeone no longer on good terms. The Rojiblancos will hope his good form continues, persuading a Premier League giant to come in for Felix, and possibly convince him to leave.
