Portugal international João Félix has departed Chelsea to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr. The club are currently managed by Portuguese manager Jorge Jesus and captained by Cristiano Ronaldo.
Despite talks with former club Benfica, Portugal international João Félix has completed a permanent transfer to Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.
This is his fourth different club since 2024. Over the past year and a half, Félix has had spells at Barcelona on loan, Chelsea and most recently AC Milan on loan.
João Félix’s Career
Felix was born in Viseu, Northern Portugal, in 1999, where he started playing for Os Pestinhas’ youth system seven years later. He would then sign for Portuguese giants FC Porto just a year later, relocating away from his family to be closer to Porto’s youth training grounds.
That being said, with very little playing time at the club, he left the club to join fierce rivals Benfica’s academy.
In 2016, after coming on as a substitute in a 0-0 draw in Portugal’s second division for Benfica B, Félix became the youngest player to debut for Benfica B. This was a record that he held until May 2021.
In his breakout season in Portugal’s second division, he played 13 matches, where he scored three goals. His first goal came against Académico de Viseu, his hometown club, in a 2-1 defeat in February 2017.
From here, he played another season for Benfica B, becoming a pivotal player in the club’s progression to the UEFA Youth League final, where they lost 2-1 to RB Salzburg the year prior.
This form earned him a promotion to Benfica’s senior side, managed by Bruno Lage. His first start for the club came in their second game of the season, where Benfica cruised to a 2-0 win over Boavista, who have since been relegated to the fifth division of Portugal’s football pyramid due to financial issues.
A week after this, he scored in a 1-1 draw in the Lisbon derby at home to Sporting Lisbon, becoming the youngest player to score in one of Portugal’s fiercest rivalries.
After gaining 28 goal contributions in 42 appearances in his first season for the Lisbon-based club, which included 22 goal contributions in 28 appearances in Liga Portugal, the then 19-year-old was signed by Atletico Madrid for a club record fee of £113m. This was a seven-year contract, which was to expire in June 2026.
Albeit, things wouldn’t necessarily go to plan in the Spanish capital for Félix. In his first season, Atletico’s star signing only managed 12 goal contributions in 36 matches.
This would be similar for the remainder of his career under Diego Simeone, with his best season in terms of goal involvements only resulting in 15 goal contributions in 36 matches.
Despite this, he won LaLiga in the 2020/21 season, but after four seasons at the club, he would go on loan to Chelsea.
Here, he would get sent off on his debut in a 2-1 away defeat to Fulham.
His next move would be to Barcelona, on loan from Atletico, where he played 40 matches, gaining sixteen goal contributions, and thriving in a more attacking system as opposed to Simeone’s tactics.
Albeit, due to Barcelona’s financial issues at the club, they declined to buy him.
Chelsea would sign him at the start of the 2024/25 season, but would be loaned out to AC Milan in the January transfer window in a spell that failed to show his high potential.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Nottingham Forest Ready Transfer Offer For ‘Extraordinary’ Serie A Forward To Fire Up Attacking Options
How Does João Felix Link to Chelsea’s Transfer Window Plans?
One thing that Chelsea has shown to be successful at in recent years is selling players for high fees, something other ‘Big 6’ clubs have failed at.
For example, this summer, they have already sold players such as Kepa Arrizabalaga and Noni Madueke to Arsenal for a combined fee of roughly £50 million.
Moreover, they have sold Djordje Petrovic to Bournemouth for £25 million, Mathis Amougou to Strasbourg for £15 million and Bashir Humphreys to Burnley for around £9 million.
This not only frees up space but also allows them to spend heavily in the transfer window on replacements. For example, due to the departure of Felix to Al-Nassr, Chelsea is already in negotiations for Xavi Simons from RB Leipzig.
This helps build Chelsea into Enzo Maresca’s desired side with great squad depth.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Mikolaj Barbanell
Recording Date: 08.06.2025