Atletico Madrid’s conditions to sanction the departure of Barcelona target – report

A recent report from Mundo Deportivo has offered an update on the future of Joao Felix, suggesting that Atletico Madrid are desperate to resolve the situation growing around the highly-talented attacker.

Atleti were already facing pressure to offload Felix this summer, and their task was made more difficult by the player, who has recently admitted his desire to play for Barcelona, with the Catalans also said to be interested in acquiring his services.

Atletico Madrid, though, are not willing to offload Felix on a cut-price deal despite the mounting pressure. As per MD, there are three possible scenarios as far as the future of the Portuguese international is concerned.

One of them is a direct sale. Atletico Madrid are ready to give up Felix for a fee of €80 million this summer. The club have informed Jorge Mendes that they would not settle for anything less.

However, finding a buyer this summer has been made difficult, not least because of Felix’s poor loan spell at Chelsea during the second half of last season. Paying such a fee is certainly out of the question as far as Barcelona are concerned.

As a result, a loan move away from the Civitas Metropolitano looks the likelier scenario. That is where Barcelona come into the picture.

But signing Felix on a loan deal will also be an expensive affair. Atleti have made clear that they would not assume part of the player’s salary. The club also want a sizable loan fee for the player, having demanded €11 million from Chelsea earlier in the year.

Keeping that in mind, sanctioning a loan deal for the former SL Benfica starlet could easily cost above €20 million for Barcelona. Some reports suggest the figure could go up to €25 million if we combine the loan fee with the player’s salary.

The third scenario is if Barcelona are open to trading a few of their star players in an exchange deal. Franck Kessie and Ferran Torres would be some of the players that could be involved in the deal, though neither of the two stars has shown any desire to leave Camp Nou so far.

So, as things stand, a move Felix appears extremely unlikely. But with the player and Barcelona keen, and Atletico intent on parting ways with him, a solution could be worked out, although the Catalans must first offload some players.