Report: Barcelona turned down January loan for highly sought-after former forward | OneFootball

Recent reports from SPORT reveal that Joao Felix’s agent proposed a loan deal to Barcelona during the January transfer window.

However, the Catalan club turned down the opportunity due to their lack of room within the wage bill and as a result, the Portuguese forward ended up at AC Milan instead.

Felix’s connection with Barcelona has always been strong. The attacker has long admired the club’s style of play, which he believes complements his footballing approach. His desire to succeed at Barça has never been a secret.

Even during his time at Atletico Madrid, Felix pushed for a move to the Catalan giants, making bold statements to force a loan deal.

Although he spent a temporary stint at Chelsea, Felix hoped for a permanent move to Barcelona but had to settle elsewhere when the opportunity didn’t materialise.

Barcelona were looking for a winger

Joao Felix offered himself to Barcelona in January. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

As Barcelona searched for an attacking reinforcement in the final weeks of the transfer window, both manager Hansi Flick and sporting director Deco prioritised signing a versatile forward who could operate both as a winger and centre-forward.

Their primary target was Marcus Rashford. However, the Englishman’s loan move fell through because Barcelona could not offload players to free up salary space. Rashford eventually joined Aston Villa instead.

Flick is known to hold Felix in high regard. During his tenure at Bayern Munich, he explored signing the Portuguese forward, but financial constraints prevented the deal.

Although Flick approved Felix’s potential return to Barcelona under the right financial conditions, the move never became a priority for the manager or the club.

Ultimately, Felix accepted AC Milan’s offer, motivated by the chance to showcase his abilities. The presence of a Portuguese coach at the Italian club also played a role in his decision.

With a six-month spell at Milan ahead, Felix’s future remains uncertain as Chelsea prepare to sell him in the summer. Whether Barcelona will revisit their interest in the talented forward remains to be seen.