Football Digest: Liverpool start the season strong
Liverpool were reportedly willing to swap Darwin Nunez for Joao Felix this summer but the Atletico Madrid star rejected them, along with Manchester United to force a ‘dream’ loan move to Barcelona. Felix fell out of favour with manager Diego Simeone and is hoping to secure a permanent move away from Civitas Metropolitan Stadium.
Multiple clubs made transfer offers for the 23-year-old but Felix chose a temporary move to Barcelona instead. Among them were Liverpool, who according to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo, were open to the idea of sending Nunez the other way in order to acquire his services.
Felix would go on to snub the Reds as well as Man Utd, Aston Villa and Al-Hilal as he moved to Barcelona on deadline day. The Portugal international was so keen to play for the Catalonians that he halved his £12.5m a year salary in order to facilitate the deal.
Felix also extended his contract at Atletico until 2029 when he accepted a reduction in wages. This comes after a frustrating loan spell at Chelsea last season.
The 23/24 home shirt for Liverpool pays homage to the past of the club, as well as collaborator Nike, with a strong 1970s influence. The iconic red, capped with bold white cuffs and collar really does invoke that classic Liverpool FC style while adding a cool retro touch
Although he showed glimpses of the potential that earned him a staggering £113m move to Atletico from Benfica in 2019, he was ultimately hampered by injuries and struggled to adapt to the English game. The Blues had been given an option to buy Felix following his six-month loan but new manager Mauricio Pochettino opted against it.
Felix’s deal at Barcelona doesn’t include an option for a permanent transfer and it is unlikely the cash-strapped Spanish giants would have the money required to prize him away from Atletico next summer even if they wanted to.
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Barca are handcuffed by Financial Fair Play regulations after they were handed a £430,000 fine “for wrongly reporting, in the financial year 2022, profits on disposal of intangible assets (other than player transfers) which are not a relevant income under the regulations,” UEFA said in a statement.
The Catalan club were in excess of their spending limit and had to sell several key first-team players in order to comply with FFP rules. Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele, Franck Kessie, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba all departed this summer in order to level Barca’s books.
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