At the transfer market deadline last summer, Barcelona suddenly brought in two players from Portugal who coincidentally both have the name Joao. The two are wing-backs Joao Cancelo who is on loan from Manchester City and Joao Felix who is on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Before being loaned to Barcelona, both Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix had lost their place in their respective teams. In Joao Cancelo’s case, this was more because he lost his main place at Manchester City while he wanted to continue appearing as the team’s main player so he grabbed the offer from Barcelona (and Bayern Munich in the middle of the 2022/23 season) because this team made an offer. to appear as the team’s main player in the wing-back line.
However, Joao Felix’s case is different. He is no longer included in Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone’s scheme. This is of course quite tragic because Felix is the most expensive player Atletico Madrid has ever bought, but he himself apparently doesn’t fit into Diego Simeone’s game scheme so his potential as a player can’t come out at all.
His performance during 3.5 seasons with Atletico did not make any impression and could even be said to be very disappointing for a player who was labeled the most expensive player ever recruited by Atletico. The loss of his position as a player in the team also made Joao Felix decide to move teams (even though only as a loan player) to Chelsea in the middle of the 2022/23 season.
However, Chelsea decided not to take the player permanently so the player had to return to Atletico before being finally taken by Barcelona. Barcelona, as a team that is under strict supervision regarding team finances, was forced to only borrow Joao Felix. Joao Cancelo’s loan to Barcelona was right on target. Barcelona indeed lacks players in the right wing-back sector, where this sector is only filled by Sergi Roberto, whose game can no longer be relied on as the main player and Jules Kounde, who originally plays as a center-back.
Joao Cancelo has also appeared 3 times in the Barcelona team, where in his first match against Osasuna, he came on from the bench in the 59th minute. Meanwhile, in the 2 matches after the international break, the starting position at right back was filled by Joao Cancelo.
Joao Cancelo also provided a more solid game for Barcelona. This cannot be separated from the skill of the player who can help the forward players through their movements on the wings of the field. He himself also contributed by scoring 1 goal when Barcelona beat Real Betis with a score of 5-0. Joao Felix showed something more special. Felix, who is trusted to fill Barcelona’s left wing position, also showed that he is a top player who is not worthy of being thrown away by Atletico.
In his first match as a starter in La Liga, Felix immediately made a contribution by scoring 1 goal against Real Betis. Then, in the first week of the UEFA Champions League, Joao Felix played a big role in Barcelona’s victory against Royal Antwerp. Joao Felix successfully scored 2 goals and 1 assist while being selected as Man of the Match in the Barcelona team.
Xavi also seems quite satisfied with Joao Felix’s performance on the field. Joao Felix also openly stated his preference for appearing on the left wing, which is the position he filled in two matches with Barcelona. Felix also proved this happiness with the goal contribution he made to the team. However, the performance of Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix has indeed proven to have a positive influence on Barcelona. The team nicknamed the Blaugrana can appear much more efficient, especially on the front lines.
One indicator is how Barcelona was able to pass the expected goals calculation against the opponent’s goal in the matches against Real Betis and Royal Antwerp. In fact, in the previous 4 matches, this calculation was only able to be passed once, namely against Villarreal. This is also a pain in itself for Barcelona. Yes, Barcelona does not have any clause that can buy the two players they are borrowing. Both Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix are only loan players for 1 season without a redemption clause.
This is inseparable from Barcelona’s financial condition which means they have to balance their financial balance first before they can move aggressively in the transfer market. Moreover, now Barca looks like a team on the verge of bankruptcy because they cannot recruit many players with phenomenal transfer amounts. Of course, this cannot be separated from the stupidity of the previous Barcelona president, Josep Maria Bartomeu, who carelessly spent money on shopping without paying attention.
Bartomeu also left Barcelona with a pile of debt which means that his successor, Joan Laporta, now has to rack his brains to arrange Barcelona’s financial balance so that it returns to balance. One of the things Laporta was forced to do was limit player spending. In the 2023/24 season alone, Barcelona will buy more free players or borrow players (without a buyout clause). Barcelona recruited Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez for free and borrowed Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix. One player that Barcelona bought was Oriol Romeu who was bought for 3.4 million Euros.
Barcelona actually spent more than 3.4 million Euros because at the same time Barcelona also recruited a young Brazilian striker, Vitor Roque, from Athletico Paranaense for 40 million Euros. However, Barcelona will only be able to get Vitor’s services at least in the middle of the 2023/24 season.
However, this crisis also gave birth to a blessing. The blessing in disguise was the return of talented players from La Masia or the Barcelona academy. Most recently there are Alejandro Balde and Lamine Yamal who have succeeded in breaking into the first team. Alejandro Balde has succeeded in becoming Barcelona’s main left back, so Barcelona is willing to let go of Jordi Alba, whose salary is considered too expensive. Apart from that, Lamine Yamal has officially become the youngest Barcelona player to ever score a goal in La Liga.
Apart from that, Yamal’s appearance in the Champions League match against Royal Antwerp made him Barcelona’s youngest player in history to ever appear in the highest competition between European clubs.
Finally, even though Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix stated that they feel at home at Barcelona, it is very difficult for the team to make these two players permanent. Moreover, with limited finances, the teams that own them will not want to let go of these two players, especially Felix, at a low price. Apart from that, Barcelona’s discourse to recruit Bernardo Silva in the 2024/25 season could also be another obstacle.
ASL
