In January, Chelsea signed four players, but Joao Felix is by far the most well-known.
Joo Félix, a forward for Portugal, has agreed to spend the remainder of the season on loan at Chelsea from Atlético Madrid. On Wednesday, Felix made the decision to extend his contract with Atletico for an additional year, which will come to an end in June 2027.
The player stated, “I hope to help the team reach their goals, Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world.” I can’t believe I’m here and playing at Stamford Bridge.
When Atlético defied the 126 million euro (roughly $140 million) buyout clause in his contract to sign Felix from Benfica in 2019, he became the third-most expensive player ever.
Under Diego Simeone’s direction, the 23-year-old Felix is no longer a guaranteed starter, but Atletico moved to extend his current contract. In a statement, the Spanish club said, “We wish Joo Félix every success in this new professional stage from Atlético de Madrid.” Felix will be hoping to return to his best as Chelsea has struggled to find offensive inspiration in recent games. Graham Potter, manager, is under a lot of pressure as a result. Felix is by far the most well-known of Chelsea’s four January signings, which also include Felix, French defender Benoît Badiashile, and Brazilian midfielder Andrey Santos.
If Félix remains healthy, Christian Pulisic, Raheem Sterling, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Kai Havertz, and Hakim Ziyech will all vie for a place in the forward line. Félix played for Portugal in four of Qatar’s five World Cup games.
The high-profile move that Félix made to Barcelona in 2019 to take over for Antoine Griezmann, who had left Atlético for the Catalan club, never quite lived up to the hype. Many people in Portugal saw Félix as the next Cristiano Ronaldo when he was 19 years old. He was regarded as one of Atlético’s most important players by fans.
The primary reason for his poor first season was that he needed more time to adjust to playing in a top league. Despite missing the title run due to injuries, he helped Atlético win the Spanish league championship the following season. Since then, he has shown signs of greatness, but his performances have not always been as good as fans had hoped.
Despite the fact that Simeone has repeatedly denied having any issues with the player, there are rumors that the player became more hostile toward Simeone after he left.