Portuguese giants confirm negotiations for 24-year-old Barcelona target

With each passing day, the chances of Joao Felix returning to FC Barcelona from Atletico Madrid are growing slimmer and slimmer.

The 24-year-old Portuguese forward spent the last season on loan at the Catalan club. And even though he was not entirely convincing, Barça have been eager to bring him back again.

However, negotiations with Atletico have been a hurdle as they want to sell the forward permanently for €60 million while Barcelona only want a loan deal.

That, coupled with strong interest from Felix’s former employers SL Benfica, seems to be taking the forward further away from a return to Catalonia.

Benfica confirm ongoing talks for Joao Felix

Indeed, Benfica president Rui Costa has confirmed that they are indeed trying to re-sign Joao Felix and that negotiations are ongoing over a possible deal.

“Let me not go outside this area, because these are ongoing negotiations, you can’t talk about them publicly,” he said of Benfica’s pursuit of Joao Felix and Renato Sanches, as quoted by SPORT.

Headed back to Benfica? (Photo by PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty Images)

As has already been reported, the Portuguese heavyweights are trying to re-sign Joao Felix by purchasing 50% of his rights from Atletico Madrid for a fee of around €30 million.

The potential departure of Joao Neves to PSG should create room for Benfica to fund the move for the Barcelona target and accommodate him in their squad.

Furthermore, the fact that Barcelona are going all out to sign both Nico Williams and Dani Olmo in the coming days also suggests that Joao Felix is no longer a priority for the Catalan giants.

As such, despite the player’s wishes, it appears unlikely that Joao will be returning for another stint with the Blaugrana.