Atletico Madrid have reportedly slapped a €60m (£50.7m) price-tag on Barcelona target Joao Felix.
The Portugal international is set to return to the Civitas Metropolitano this summer after spending the 2023-24 campaign on loan at Barcelona.
Felix made 44 competitive appearances for the Catalan giants, registering 10 goals and six assists in what proved to be another inconsistent campaign for the forward.
The 24-year-old experienced a disappointing end to his loan spell after failing to start any of Barcelona's final seven league matches.
Xavi ultimately preferred to use Lamine Yamal and Raphinha as his wide options, leaving Felix to operate as a substitute in the closing stages of the season.
Atletico set out Felix demands
A potential return appeared unlikely under Xavi's watch, but he has now been replaced by former Bayern Munich and Germany boss Hansi Flick.
Following the change of manager, club president Joan Laporta recently confirmed that he wants to re-sign Felix and Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo on loan for next season.
However, Atletico are hoping to find a new permanent home for Felix rather than sanction another loan departure this summer.
According to Marca, Atletico are likely to hold out for offers in excess of €60m (£50.7m) as they look to recoup some of the €126m (£106.5m) that they paid to sign Felix from Benfica in 2019.
The report claims that Atletico's steep asking price may prove troublesome for most clubs outside of the Premier League.
However, it remains to be seen whether any English side is interested in signing Felix, who previously spent the second half of the 2022-23 season playing in the Premier League for Chelsea.
What does Atletico's stance mean for Barcelona?
Due to their well-documented financial situation, Barcelona are unable to meet Atletico's valuation which is why they are keen to agree another loan deal.
However, Atletico are determined to sell the Portuguese attacker, who still has five years left to run on his current contract.
As a result, Atleti are likely to explore every avenue before they consider sanctioning another loan move for the 2024-25 season.
With that in mind, Barcelona's best hope of re-signing Felix may be in the latter stages of the window if Atletico struggle to find any suitors for a permanent transfer. body check tags ::
