After their loan deals expired, Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo were strongly linked with continuing at Barcelona, as the club showed keen interest in extending their stays in the Blaugrana jerseys.
In the end, neither player ended up being signed by Barcelona with Cancelo taking his talents to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal and Joao Felix joining Chelsea.
Barcelona did not submit any offers for the Portuguese pair
Indeed, according to MARCA, Barcelona had hoped to extend both players’ loans, especially Joao Cancelo’s, but financial constraints prevented them from submitting any formal offers.
Joao Felix’s situation piqued a lot of interest at the club, as Flick wanted him in the squad, believing he could contribute.
However, Atletico Madrid pushed for a sale, with super agent Jorge Mendes working toward that end. Barcelona resultantly informed Felix they could not keep him, which accelerated his move to Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Barcelona pushed harder for Joao Cancelo, recognizing the lack of options at right-back.
Cancelo was eager to join, and the club tried to accommodate him despite ‘Fair Play’ constraints. However, Barcelona ultimately acknowledged it was not feasible, as the difficulties registering Dani Olmo demonstrated.
Similar to Atletico Madrid, Manchester City were in no mood to continue engaging in the limbo of loan deals and only wanted a permanent sum or a mandatory €20 million purchase clause, something that did not float Barcelona’s boat.
Another factor that saw Cancelo’s transfer being held up was the rise of Jules Kounde in the right-back position, who showed his incredible talents for France during the Euros.
In any case, the Catalan giants would not be excessively ruing over the missed opportunity as their strong start to the season has propelled them to a first-place position in La Liga.
Nonetheless, lack of depth has always been an area of concern, and time will tell if this shortage might hinder their ability to maintain their momentum through the campaign.
