Chelsea F.C. has signed Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix on loan for the rest of the season for a fee of £9.7m (approx. $11.7m USD).
The move has come as somewhat of a surprise to football fans after Felix was also heavily linked to Arsenal and Manchester United, but the Portuguese forward has opted for a move to West London instead. Speaking about his move to the five-time Premier League winners, Felix said: “Chelsea is one of the great teams in the world and I hope to help the team reach their objectives. I am very, very happy to be here and very excited to play at Stamford Bridge.”
Felix has also signed a one-year extension at Atletico Madrid, meaning an option to buy clause in his current Chelsea contract is out of the question.
Atletico Madrid made Felix the fifth most expensive player in history when they paid £113m (approx. $137m USD) for the then 19-year-old in 2019. Since, Felix has gone on to score 34 goals in 131 appearances in all competitions, with 18 assists.
Since returning from the World Cup — where he scored one goal in five games — Felix has played for Atletico twice and scored in a 2-0 win against Elche on December 29 before appearing in a 1-0 loss against Barcelona.
So far this season, Felix has scored five goals and provided three assists for his current Spanish side and his move to Chelsea makes him the Blues’ latest signing ahead of Benoit Badiashile, David Datro Fofana, and Andrey Santos.
In other sports news, an NBA executive has reportedly said that LeBron James could be traded to the Golden State Warriors.
Tagged: Sports, UK