Joao Felix has taken a major pay cut to get his dream move to Barcelona, according to reports.

The 23-year-old secured a loan move to the Catalan giants from Atletico Madrid last week, after previously claiming it was his ‘dream’ to play for the club.

And it has been revealed that he had to make a significant sacrifice to get the deal over the line.

Felix’s decision to accept the pay cut is a major boost for Barcelona, whose financial issues have been well-documented, with the club having to pull several levers to make signings in recent transfer windows.

Joao Felix has agreed to take a staggeringly low salary at Barcelona this season

Felix was presented as a Barcelona player on Saturday after completing his loan move

Atletico are also set to pay Felix the equivalent of two months’ work, covering July and August, which amounts to around €1.5m (£1.3m).

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.

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This contract also included a pay reduction of 50 per cent for the period 2024-29.

Felix has generally been associated with huge amounts of money, having become the most expensive teenager in world football when he joined Atletico for £114m in 2019.

Chelsea were willing to splash out on him in January as well, paying Atletico a £9m loan fee and agreeing to cover his wages for the rest of the season – believed to be approximately £6m for half the campaign. He will now earn less than 10 per cent of this salary during a full season at Barcelona. 

His spell at Stamford Bridge was a largely underwhelming one, as the Portuguese forward was sent off on his debut against Fulham and finished with four goals in 20 appearances across all competitions.

This led to the Blues deciding not to extend his stay in west London, but he has now been picked up by Barcelona as they aim to defend their LaLiga title.

Felix made his Barcelona debut off the bench in a 2-1 win over Osasuna on Sunday as Xavi’s men maintained their unbeaten start to the season to remain just two points behind early pace-setters Real Madrid.

Felix made his Barcelona debut off the bench on Sunday as they beat Osasuna 2-1