Joao Felix has left Chelsea on a permanent transfer to join Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr, the club have announced. It brings to an end a forgettable second spell in England for Felix.
Having joined from Atletico Madrid last summer for £45million as part of the deal that saw Conor Gallagher head to Spain, Felix spent the second half of last season on loan at Milan. He failed to cement a place in Enzo Maresca’s plans and is now on his way to a sixth team in as many years.
Felix had been in talks with Benfica over a return to Portugal but Chelsea landed an agreement with Al Nassr. He is the latest player to make the switch to the middle east and follows Edouard Mendy, Kalidou Koulibaly, N’Golo Kante, and Angelo Gabriel in doing so from Stamford Bridge.
Having already signed Joao Pedro and Jamie Gittens this window, Chelsea are closing in on a deal for RB Leipzig’s Xavi Simons, who will essentially replace Felix as a backup to Cole Palmer. Simons could be joined by fellow Dutchman Jorrel Hato, who is set to come in as cover for Marc Cucurella in defence.
Felix, who was once the golden boy of European football when making his breakthrough at Benfica and being transferred for over £111million to Atletico in 2019, has dropped down the pecking order after struggling back at Chelsea. He also made little impact in Italy with Milan.
The 25-year-old had spent half of the 2022/23 season at Chelsea on loan before Mauricio Pochettino signalled his intentions to go a separate way from Felix, declining the chance to buy him. Under Maresca’s management, Felix was signed permantly 12 months later, regardless.
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He would go on to start just three Premier League matches, scoring one goal – on his second debut as a substitute away at Wolves in a 6-2 win. Felix did enjoy success in the Conference League but never truly found a spot on the left or as a regular competitor for Palmer.
He leaves Chelsea with 11 goals and two assists across his two brief stays in SW6. Felix has remained part of Portugal’s setup under Roberto Martinez and won the Nations League with his country earlier this year.
Simons will hope to have a better time of things and is heading into a new-look attack alongside Pedro, Liam Delap, Estevao Willian, and now without Noni Madueke. Chelsea are still aiming to move on from Christopher Nkunku, too, making more room for Simons.
Upon announcing Felix’s departure, Chelsea wrote: “We thank Joao for his efforts across his two spells at the club and wish him well for the future.”
His introduction at Al Nassr, which comes on a short two-year deal, was followed with the words: “I’m here to spread joy. Let’s win together.”
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