Joao Felix has vowed to make Chelsea his “home” after returning to the club on a permanent transfer.
The 24-year-old has joined the Blues on a seven-year contract, starting his second spell at Stamford Bridge following a £42m move from Atletico Madrid.
Felix scored four goals in 20 appearances during a loan stint at the club in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign following a relatively unhappy time of things in the Spanish capital despite arriving for a club-record fee of around £113m in the summer of 2019.
The Portugal international’s relationship with Atletico boss Diego Simeone is said to have been strained and Felix then joined Barcelona on loan last season, though the Catalan side opted out of signing him on a permanent basis.
While few would doubt Felix’s talent, finding a settled landing spot has proven something of a problem for him in recent years, though the player hopes a return to Chelsea will provide exactly that.
“It’s a chance for me to find a home,’ he said.
‘After two loans, Chelsea and Barca, I needed to stay permanently in one place. There is no better place for me to be than Chelsea. I see a perfect place to shine.
“It was a little bit of a lot of things that made me want to come back: the project, the club, the league, the fans, the time I spent here that I loved. I felt really good when I was here, despite the results we had. I’m really happy to be back.”
