João Félix joins Chelsea: “The perfect place to shine”

João Félix has completed his permanent transfer to English Premier League club Chelsea, joining the Blues on a 7-year contract from Atletico Madrid.

Chelsea reportedly paid a fee of €52m to sign Félix with no add-ons, while Atletico will retain a sell-on fee. Félix rejoins the club where he spent the second half of the season on-loan in the 2022-23 campaign.

Félix spent last season on-loan with Barcelona – his second loan spell since falling out with Atletico manager Diego Simeone in the autumn on 2022. The move represents a massive €74m loss for Atletico on the club-record €126m fee they paid to Benfica to acquire Félix as a teenager back in the summer of 2019.

“I’m really happy to be back at Chelsea and I can’t wait to get started,” João said. “I can see some familiar faces from the last time I was here, which is always nice.

“I loved my time here before and I told my friends and family that I’d love to return to the Premier League one day. To do that with Chelsea is a great feeling and I’m excited to be back.

“It’s a chance for me to find a home. After two loans, Chelsea and Barca, I needed to stay permanently in one place. There is no better place for me to be than Chelsea. I see a perfect place to shine.

‘It was a little bit of a lot of things that made me want to come back: the project, the club, the league, the fans, the time I spent here that I loved. I felt really good when I was here, despite the results we had. I’m really happy to be back.

‘I’ve kind of changed since I was last here. I’m 24 now. I’ll be 25 in November. I feel like I grew up as a player. That’s normal with age. I’m more prepared for the Premier League.

'I feel like my best years are ahead of me. I have no doubt about that. The best years are still to come. And this year is going to be a good year, because now I am permanently at home, and I can enjoy home.”

Félix joins fellow Portuguese Pedro Neto and Renato Veiga at Stamford Bridge, where new coach Enzo Maresca is believed to be juggling a first-team squad of over 40 players ahead of the close of the transfer window. The Blues lost their first game of the Premier League season 2-0 at home to Manchester City on the opening weekend of the campaign.

By @SeanGillen9