Barcelona will need to fork out €80 million to sign Joao Felix and €25 million to secure the services of Joao Cancelo in permanent moves.
According to a report by Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Atletico Madrid will demand €80 million to part ways with Joao Felix in the 2024 summer transfer window. Meanwhile, Manchester City might sell Joao Cancelo if a suitor shells out €25 million. Barcelona will look to complete permanent moves for the Portuguese duo next year.
Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix joined Barcelona in deadline-day moves, with the Blaugrana signing them on loan. Both players were priority targets for the reigning La Liga champions. But they had to wait until the final moments of the summer transfer window to secure their services.
Joao Cancelo had reached a crossroads in his career after returning from his loan spell with Bayern Munich. The Bundesliga champions did not sign him in a permanent deal, while Pep Guardiola wanted Manchester City to part ways with him. Meanwhile, the 29-year-old had his heart set on joining Barcelona and sealed an agreement on personal terms with them.
On the other hand, Joao Felix had fallen out of favour with Diego Simeone after a few run-ins with the manager. The Atletico Madrid boss subsequently deemed him out of his plans, and he did not feature in the first couple of games. But Barcelona offered him an escape route midway through the summer transfer window.
Premier League clubs were also keen on signing Felix, who only wanted to join Barcelona. So, he snubbed interest from high-profile English outfits to complete his loan move to the Catalan club. Meanwhile, both Portuguese internationals have started their stints with Barcelona strongly, with Felix, in particular, making his mark.
Barcelona will look to sign the Portuguese duo to permanent deals in 2024. But their clubs’ asking price will pose a problem for Barcelona. The report has now revealed those valuations, with Atletico Madrid demanding €80 million to sell Felix and Manchester City asking for €25 million to part ways with Cancelo.
An outlay of over €105 million might leave Barcelona in a spot of bother, with Cancelo only likely to be affordable. But it will be interesting to see if they can raise enough funds to secure the services of Felix and Cancelo next year.
