Barcelona’s newly appointed Director of Football, Deco, has expressed the club’s willingness to secure the permanent services of both Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix in the next summer transfer window. The pair made their way to Camp Nou on the last day of the summer transfer window, with Cancelo arriving on loan from Manchester City, and Felix being borrowed from Atletico Madrid for the 2023-24 season.
Deco has clarified that there are no predetermined purchase options for either player, which means Barcelona are not obligated to sign Cancelo or Felix next summer. Nevertheless, Barcelona are open to the possibility of securing both players on a long-term basis should they deliver impressive performances during the current season.
“Neither Cancelo nor Joao Felix have a purchase option. It is a simple one-year transfer. If they do well we will try to retain them, but for now, it is a transfer,” Deco stated.
For now, the pair aspire to secure spots in the starting line-up as Barcelona prepare to resume their La Liga campaign at home to Real Betis on Saturday night.
Both players recently represented Portugal during the international break. Cancelo featured in matches against Slovakia and Luxembourg, whereas Felix played in the latter game, even scoring as a substitute in a dominant 9-0 victory.
Felix had previously spent the second half of the last season on loan at Chelsea from Atletico Madrid due to issues with his relationship with head coach Diego Simeone. Similarly, Cancelo faced challenges at Manchester City and had a falling out with manager Pep Guardiola in the latter part of the previous year, leading to his loan move to Bayern Munich for the second half of the season.
As for their contracts, Felix still has six years remaining on his deal at Atletico, while Cancelo has four years left on his contract at City.
