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Joao Felix is thought to have snubbed offers from Liverpool, Aston Villa, and Manchester United in pursuit of his dream loan move to Barcelona, according to reports in Spain.
The Portuguese winger has endured a turbulent spell since his record-busting £113million move to Atletico Madrid and gradually fallen out of favour with his manager, Diego Simeone.
The 23-year-old was sent on loan to Chelsea during the January transfer window at the start of 2023 in a bid to re-find his footing, but failed to recapture the promise that brought him to the Metropolitano.
Joao Felix made his first appearance for Barcelona on Sunday after securing a loan move
Neither Jurgen Klopp (left) nor Unai Emery (right) were able to tempt the winger to the Premier League
The player took a considerable pay cut to secure his dream move after signing a new deal with Atletico before the transfer
But rather than seek a return to the Premier League by other means, Felix has been single-minded about forcing a move within La Liga, to the league champions Barcelona.
As per Mundo Deportivo, this meant snubbing offers from a range of other top flight clubs in both England and Saudi Arabia.
Liverpool is thought to have prepared a swap deal involving striker Darwin Nunez moving in the other direction, and Manchester United were also interested in exercising a loan move for the player.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa were said to be leading the race for the player in July, but failed to secure Felix’s services for their 2023/24 campaign.
Saudi side Al-Hilal also had a lingering interest in the player, before ultimately switching their attentions to Neymar Jnr, who signed to the side in a jaw-dropping £78million move that will see him rake in £130m a year.
Felix has failed to cement himself in head coach Diego Simeone’s long-term plans for the side
Felix made his debut for Barcelona after tearing up during his presentation for the Blaugrana over the weekend, but the player has had to make a number of notable sacrifices to force the fairytale move.
The player is set to receive just £342,000 (€400,000) for the whole season after taking a staggering pay cut to join Xavi Hernandez’s champions, and Felix’s parent club will pay the player an additional £1.3m (€1.5m) to ensure the move goes ahead.
Prior to joining Barcelona, Felix put pen to paper on a new long-term deal with Atletico that will keep him at the club until 2029.
This contract also included a pay reduction of 50 per cent for the period 2024-29.
