Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has confirmed Joao Felix will be welcomed back from Chelsea with open arms. In January, the 23-year-old put pen-to-paper on a six-month deal with the Blues as Todd Boehly looked to further bolster the club's frontline.
football.london exclusively revealed that there is no option or obligation for the west Londoners to sign Felix permanently. The Portugal international, however, did agree an extension with the Spanish giants before leaving on loan, protecting his value should Diego Simeone decide to offload him in the future, which is believed to be a 'real possibility'.
Last month, Felix suggested that he would be open to the prospect of staying at Stamford Bridge. Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s clash against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League second-leg, the forward refused to rule out a return to the Spanish capital.
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"In terms of if I want to stay or not? I think in the future, nobody knows," Felix said. "I am just focused on tomorrow’s game. After that, we don’t know what will happen. Maybe I will be here. This league is amazing, everyone in the club is so good so maybe I could be here."
Then, when asked whether Champions League qualification will factor into a decision over his future, Felix replied: "Playing in the Champions League is always important. It is a competition that everyone wants to play.
"But now we have a lot of games to reach the Champions League through the league. It is not over. But yes, playing in the Champions League is important in the decision. But in the future? No one knows. Let’s see what happens."
Chelsea are out of the Champions League and a top-four Premier League place looks out of reach, meanwhile Atletico Madrid sit third in La Liga with a 12-point cushion. Nevertheless, in an interview with Spanish outlet El Larguero, the club's president confirmed that they want to bring Felix back, but conceded that anything could happen.
"What’s next for Joao? He will have a place in the team if he comes back here, for sure," said Cerezo. "We don’t know what will happen. In football, you can’t take anything for granted."
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