Joao Felix has spoken of his love for Chelsea amid reports that he doesn’t want to return to Atletico Madrid.
The Portuguese forward was speaking to the club’s media with only two matches left of his half-season loan at Stamford Bridge.
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Felix joined in January on a short-term deal reportedly worth as much as £11million in fees and wages, and he then got off to the worst possible start with a red card on his debut.
He’s since shown glimpses of his class, but only managed three goals in 14 games, which likely isn’t enough for Chelsea to want to buy a player who reportedly has a €100m [£87m] asking price.
Felix has attempted to make his feelings clear, though, with footage showing him saying: “I don’t know yet my future but these four or five months I’ve loved it.
“It’s a top club, everyone in the club is very good to me, my teammates are unbelievable and I really like to be here.”
One thing that does seem to be clear is that Felix doesn’t want to return to Atleti, unless manager Diego Simeone departs.
El Mundo Deportivo in Spain claim playing under Simeone is ‘not negotiable’ with the pair falling out four seasons into his staggering £112m move from Benfica, which keeps him as the fourth most expensive player of all time.
That was despite him only having little more than half a season of senior football under his belt, showing just how big an asset to Atleti the player is.
But with no one looking interested in paying anywhere near his £87m asking price, another loan to Chelsea appears to be the most likely scenario, according to Mundo Deportivo.
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The Spanish outlet also claims that incoming Blues boss Mauricio Pochettino will have the final say on Felix, who has fallen out of favour under Frank Lampard.
