Initially, Benfica negotiated to bring Felix back to Lisbon with an offer of around 30 million USD. However, this price fell far short of the 64 million USD Chelsea spent to acquire the Portuguese forward last summer. Therefore, the English club had to consider other options.
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Felix playing for Chelsea during his loan spell in the latter half of the 2022-2023 season. Photo: AFP |
Felix playing for Chelsea during his loan spell in the latter half of the 2022-2023 season. Photo: AFP
Al Nassr unexpectedly made a more attractive offer, allowing the English team to recoup almost their entire initial investment. According to European media, the two clubs agreed on a fee of 57 million USD.
Felix has also agreed to personal terms. If he passes his medical, the Portuguese forward will sign a 5-year contract with an annual salary of 29.5 million USD, equivalent to 564,000 USD per week.
This salary would make Felix the second-highest earner in the Premier League, behind only Erling Haaland (670,000 USD per week), and higher than Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (537,000 USD per week).
At Al Nassr, Felix will reunite with Cristiano Ronaldo, the club's captain and his close teammate on the Portugal national team. Ronaldo's presence is believed to be a key factor in Felix's decision to join the ambitious project in Saudi Arabia, which has become an attractive destination for many European stars in the past two years.
European media consider this a beneficial deal for all three parties once completed. Chelsea recovers its investment, Al Nassr gains a big name at the age of 25, and Felix has the opportunity to revive his form in a less pressured environment.
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Felix and Ronaldo playing for the Portugal national team. Photo: GES Sportfoto |
Felix and Ronaldo playing for the Portugal national team. Photo: GES Sportfoto
After Felix, Chelsea will continue to seek buyers for Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson. Conversely, they have recruited Joao Pedro from Brighton, Jamie Bynoe-Gittens from Dortmund, and Liam Delap from Ipswich Town for a total fee of 200 million USD.
Born in 1999, Felix came through Benfica's academy and made his first-team debut in 2018. After just one season, he scored 20 goals, helping Benfica win the Portuguese league title and was considered the brightest talent of his generation in Portuguese football.
In the summer of 2019, Felix moved to Atletico Madrid for 142 million USD, becoming the fourth most expensive signing in the world. However, he did not meet expectations and was subsequently loaned to Chelsea (2023) and Barca (2023-2024).
In the summer of 2024, Chelsea signed Felix permanently but then loaned him to Milan for the second half of the 2024-2025 season. However, after an unremarkable season and an unsuccessful loan spell at Milan, the English team quickly sought to offload Felix in the summer of 2025.
Compiled by Hong Duy
