Atletico Madrid president confirms Joao Felix is returning to club as Mauricio Pochettino 'does not want' him at Chelsea
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ByEurosport
Updated 30/05/2023 at 13:30 GMT
Joao Felix will return to Atletico Madrid this summer. Atletico president Enrique Cerezo says that Chelsea's new head coach Mauricio Pochettino does not want the club to sign the 23-year-old on a permanent deal following the expiration of his loan deal. Felix has played for Chelsea since January after arriving in a deal worth £15m until the end of the 2022-23 Premier League season.
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Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed that Chelsea will not be signing Joao Felix permanently this summer and will return to the club.
The Atletico forward joined the Premier League side on loan in January in a deal worth £15m.
Felix has played 20 times in all competitions for Chelsea since his arrival at Stamford Bridge, scoring four goals but failed to produce an assist.
Chelsea announced former Tottenham and Paris Saint-Germain boss Mauricio Pochettino as their new head coach on Monday. And according to Cerezo, the Argentine has decided that Felix is not part of his plans.
"Yesterday we had the news that the new Chelsea manager (Pochettino) does not (want) Joao Felix," Cerezo told AS.
"We've known for less than 24 hours. He'll come back here and we'll see. We don't have anything planned."
Atletico signed Felix for £114m in 2019, making the Portugal international the fourth most expensive player of all time.
He signed a four-year contract extension with Atletico until 2027 before his loan deal to Chelsea was confirmed. However, the London club have decided not to sign him on a permanent deal after his loan spell.
The 23-year-old had said that he was "desperate" to continue at Chelsea.
He said: "I don't know yet my future. But these four, five months, I loved it. It's a top club, everyone in the club was very good to me. My team-mates unbelievable. I really like to be here."
Chelsea finished the Premier League season in 12th and reportedly could sell up to 12 players in the summer as the 2021 Champions League winners look to return to the top six in the Premier League next season.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Edouard Mendy, Christian Pulisic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Hakim Ziyech are expected to leave the club while Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic, Marc Cucurella and Kai Havertz could also be sold.
Chelsea captain Cesar Azpilicueta could also depart after more than a decade at Chelsea.
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