Barcelona reject chance to sign Joao Felix permanently in swap deal involving 21-year-old star joining Atletico Madrid: Reports

Barcelona have rejected the chance to sign star attacker Joao Felix in a swap deal that sends their 21-year-old winger Ansu Fati to Atletico Madrid. Felix is currently on loan at Barca from Atletico, while Fati is on loan at Brighton & Hove Albion from the Catalan giants.

Atletico were reportedly the ones who offered to swap Felix for Fati, with Barca refusing the deal. The reasons cited were the Portuguese forward's high wages and Xavi's preference of other players over Felix in his lineups.

According to reports from El Nacional, both players will seemingly be returning to their parent clubs and continuing their stay there as things stand. Both are still unsettled at their parent clubs, and are still linked with other moves away from the pair of La Liga giants.

However, reports from Mundo Deportivo have also suggested that Barcelona will choose to retain Felix over Fati if they had to make the decision in the summer.

Felix joined the Blaugrana on loan from the Rojiblancos at the start of the season and hit the ground running. However, he has fallen out of favor with Xavi recently, featuring more and more infrequently in his lineups.

In 41 appearances across competitions this season, the attacker has a respectable 10 goals and six assists to his name. Yet, Barca have showcased no interest in making his move permanent.

On the other hand, Fati moved to Premier League side Brighton due to a lack of game time under manager Xavi. He had a sprightly start with the Seagulls but suffered a nasty calf injury that kept him out of action from November 2023 to February 2024.

Fati has made 25 appearances for Brighton across all competitions, bagging just four goals and an assist. He has only started two games since his return and is expected to be shipped off by the Catalans in the summer.

"Depending on the situation we are in" - Xavi still unsure about Ansu Fati's future at Barcelona

Barcelona manager Xavi expressed his hesitance when asked about the future of 22-year-old Spanish winger Ansu Fati at the club beyond the end of the season.

Ahead of their 2-0 La Liga win against Real Sociedad, Xavi claimed that he hadn't decided on any of the loanees' future yet.

He said in the pre-match press conference (per SPORT):

"It is time to think about the end of the League. With those on loan we will decide at the end of the season depending on the situation we are in."

The emergence of youngsters from Barcelona's academy, La Masia, including the likes of Lamine Yamal and Marc Guiu has been a revelation for the Blaugrana this season.

Alongside that, the resurgence of underwhelming stars like Raphinha and Ferran Torres has also been impressive this season. In such a scenario, it will be extremely difficult for Fati to establish himself in Xavi's plans moving forward.

With a club clearout expected in the summer to balance their books, Barcelona are holding out for a €30 million offer to part ways with Fati. The likely outcome for Fati in the upcoming transfer window is a move away from his boyhood club.