Barcelona’s squad planning for the 2024-25 season will kick up a notch when Hansi Flick starts work as manager in the next week or so. The German will have to make numerous big decisions, and one will be on the futures of Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo, who will return to Atletico Madrid and Manchester City respectively after Euro 2024.
Both players want to return to Catalonia later this summer, and according to MD, Barcelona are prepared to welcome them back. However, it will only be if Atleti and Man City agree to similar terms to the ones agreed upon in September 2023.
Barcelona would be okay with a buy option being included in any deals, but they do not want to be tied down by the possibility of signing either player on a permanent basis, so they would reject an obligation clause.
Atleti would likely be willing to accept Barcelona’s demands on the situation, given that they are unlikely to be able to offload Felix otherwise. However, Cancelo’s situation will probably be different, as numerous clubs in Europe and Saudi Arabia have been linked with signing him permanently, which Man City will prioritise over another loan.
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