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Joao Felix's €236m of transfer history: How does Chelsea flop keep getting away with it?
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 28 Jul 2025 12:57 BST
- 5 min read
News
Joao Felix is about to join an exclusive club of just three footballers who have made three transfers of €50 million or above. The question is: how did he wind up in that position?
Chelsea are poised to complete a deal with Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr that will see him depart Stamford Bridge after just one season at the club.
Remarkably, after a campaign in which he flopped spectacularly both in West London and then on loan at AC Milan, the Premier League side are set to virtually break even on the 25-year-old.
Current ETV
João Félix
F (L), M (C)
Chelsea
João Félix
F (L), M (C)
Chelsea
ETV Range
€22.9M - €28M
Joao Felix was signed last summer for €52m from Atletico Madrid in a deal that looked ominous from the outset. A previous loan spell at Chelsea saw the Portuguese struggle to make inroads in the first team, making just 20 appearances while offering a return of four goals and no assists.
Although he scored seven times for the Blues last term, he was relegated to the status of Conference League starter, grabbing four of his strikes in that competition.
A perennial disappointment
None of this should come as a shock. Joao Felix has only once achieved more than 10 goals in a season across all competitions and has equally only provided a direct hand in 16 on one occasion. This was back in 2018/19, when he announced himself as the game’s next great superstar by scoring 20 and creating eight more for Benfica in a stunning debut campaign. He has lived off this ever since.
These numbers are alarming for an attacking midfielder and not the sort of figures associated with multiple blockbuster transfers.
Yet here we are. Joao Felix is just hours away from joining Romelu Lukaku and Neymar as the only three players in the history of the game to make three €50m plus transfers. Not even Ronaldo has achieved this notable feat.
STATS
João Félix
F (L), M (C)
Chelsea
João Félix
F (L), M (C)
Chelsea
It’s worth caveating at this point that the attacker’s initial cost to Al-Nassr is liable to be significantly under this figure, but Chelsea see the bonus payments as inevitable.
Fabrizio Romano has outlined the situation on YouTube, explaining: “My understanding is that the immediate fee for Chelsea is €30 million plus important add-ons and a heavy sell-on clause. So Chelsea feel internally that they have €50m guaranteed for Joao Felix. It’ll be received over several years. But the deal is done.”
From the player’s perspective, Al-Nassr must have given him a huge incentive to move. He is leaving behind the security of a contract that runs until 2031 in West London to sign just a two-year deal with the Saudis.
Joao Felix set for third huge move
The answer to the question as why Joao Felix has made three such giant moves is in the undeniable potential that he still possesses.
Although his Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) has plummeted to €25m over the course of recent months, clubs feel that there is the tantalising possibility that they are the one to get it right.
Felix’s career, after all, has been marked by long periods of disturbance that have seen him struggle to settle and get the type of extended first-team football required to be at his absolute best.
The 5 most expensive players ever: Cumulative transfer fees
| Name | Total Fees |
| Neymar | €400m |
| Romelu Lukaku | €369m |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | €247m |
| Joao Felix* | €236m |
*including reported Al-Nassr fee and bonus payments
His potential remains high, according to analytics firm SciSports. It states that if Joao Felix can reach his maximum level, he could still perform to the standard of a player like Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo or Matheus Cunha, who recently joined Man Utd from Wolves for nearly €75m.
It is this tantalising prospect that has fuelled the ongoing attraction of Joao Felix, who is destined to become the fourth most expensive player of all time in cumulative transfer fees, despite achieving very little of note.
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