Mauricio Pochettino makes decision over Joao Felix’s Chelsea future

The Portuguese joined the Blues on loan in January for a reported £9.69 million (€11m) fee, scoring four times in 20 appearances

Jack Rathborn
Tuesday 30 May 2023 16:16 BST
Comments
Pochettino in charge at Chelsea

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Joao Felix will not stay at Chelsea and is now set to return to Atletico Madrid following his loan.

The Portuguese forward joined in January on loan from the LaLiga side for a reported £9.69 million (€11m) fee, scoring four times in 20 appearances in all competitions.

But Atletico president Enrique Cerezo has now confirmed Mauricio Pochettino, who was announced as the new Chelsea manager on Monday after signing a two-year contract, has passed on the opportunity to retain the player for next season.

“We have been informed that Pochettino does not count on Joao Felix for Chelsea,” Cerezo said.

“He will return here, we’ll see… we’ve nothing planned.”

The 23-year-old appeared keen to extend his stay in London, admitting recently to enjoying the experience of playing in England with the Blues.

“I don’t know yet my future but these four or five months, I’ve loved it,” Felix said.

“It’s a top club, everyone in the club is very good to me, my teammates are unbelievable and I really like to be here.”

Felix’s future is now unclear after falling out of favour under Diego Simeone this season, though he has four years remaining on his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in