According to AS, no one at Barcelona can guarantee João Félix will stay at Camp Nou next season. In fact, as of July 1st, Félix and Cancelo, both “Joãos”, are no longer players belonging to Barcelona.
Barcelona’s social media presence has been erratic and confusing, perhaps announcing the departure of these “Joãos” one day and then deleting the post, only to celebrate their progress to the Euro 2024 quarter-finals the next. The only certainty within Barcelona is that keeping Félix this year will be very difficult: firstly, La Liga will not accept another reduction in his salary under the “Financial Fair Play” rules; secondly, he did not receive much playing time from Portugal coach Roberto Martínez at the Euros, negatively impacting his sporting value and appraisal.
A few days ago, Deco traveled to Porto, one of his tasks being a meeting with the agent of the two “Joãos”, Jorge Mendes. The Barcelona sporting director explained to Mendes the difficulties the club faced in keeping these players, especially due to the “Financial Fair Play” rules. Not only are the “Joãos” in this uncertain situation, but other players like Gavi, Araujo, Íñigo Martínez, and Roberto cannot be officially registered due to the strict regulations imposed by La Liga on all clubs.
The club’s wage bill remains very high, exceeding €100 million, making it currently impossible to afford the salaries of the “Joãos”: Félix’s annual salary is close to €9 million, while Cancelo earns a similar amount at Manchester City. Deco requested Mendes to be patient, but couldn’t guarantee completing the deal. In fact, Cancelo is currently a higher priority than Félix: Bayern Munich manager Thomas Tuchel had already attempted to sign the full-back during his time with the Bavarian club.
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