Atletico Madrid forward Joao Felix will reportedly move to Saudi Arabia on a one-year loan deal if he is unable to engineer a move to Barcelona before the end of the transfer window.
The Portugal international told Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano earlier this summer that he dreams of making the move to Barcelona, with the Catalan outfit said to be interested.
However, Barcelona's financial problems mean that a deal is difficult at this stage of the window, with a lot needing to happen on both sides for a move to Camp Nou to go through.
According to AS, Felix already has an agreement to move to Al-Hilal on loan, which will occur if a switch to Xavi's side does not transpire before the September deadline.
The report claims that Atletico remain keen to sell the forward, but Diego Simeone's side would be willing to accept a loan deal if his wages are paid in full.
Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has said that Felix no longer wants to represent the club.
"Joao Felix is clear that he does not want to play for Atletico Madrid," Cerezo told La Sexta. "Whether they want him at other clubs, that's a different question.
"But even if he doesn't want to be, he's still an Atletico Madrid player."
The 23-year-old's relationship with Atletico head coach Simeone is believed to have broken down towards the end of last year, which led to him being made available on loan in January.
Chelsea signed Felix on a short-term basis, and he represented the Blues on 20 occasions in all competitions, scoring four goals.
The attacker penned a new deal with Atletico before his departure, with the Red and Whites looking to protect his value, having paid in the region of £113m to acquire him from Benfica in the summer of 2019.
Felix, who has also been linked with Manchester United this summer, has made 131 appearances for the Red and Whites in all competitions, scoring 34 goals and registering 18 assists in the process.
The Portuguese was on the bench for Atletico's first league game of the season against Granada, but he was not involved against Real Betis last weekend, allegedly due to injury.
Barcelona's financial situation means that a permanent deal this summer would be impossible, but there is a chance that a loan agreement with a future purchase option could be agreed. body check tags ::
