João Félix rejected Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa and other clubs to join Barcelona on loan from Atlético Madrid on deadline day.
That’s according to Mundo Deportivo, who have a report on the efforts put in by the 23-year-old to ‘fulfil his dream’ of joining Barca and why he snubbed Liverpool, Manchester United and Aston Villa.
Félix had informed his agent, Jorge Mendes, and Los Rojiblancos, that he was ready to let go of lot of money to arrive at the Camp Nou.
The Portugal international extended his deal at Atlético from 2027 to 2029, and with that, the report says he reduced his annual gross salary from €12m to €6m. This has helped Diego Simeone’s side with amortisation and to also lower the wage bill.
As part of the loan agreement, the newspaper states the Catalan club will pay €400,000 per year to the player and the rest is taken care of by the Madrid club.
It’s claimed the Reds wanted to exchange him for Darwin Núñez, which feels unlikely, while Erik ten Hag’s side tried to take the former Benfica star on loan. The Villans pushed hard to bring him to Villa Park and Al-Hilal tried to convince the player before they signed Neymar.
However, Félix, who made a lot of sacrifice to join Barca, ‘said no to the offers’ from Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa and Al-Hilal.
It’s to be noted the Spanish press had insisted until the end of August that Aston Villa were the only side to have made an offer for him.
