After scoring the sole goal of the clash between Barcelona and the Rojiblancos, Felix hit the Bellingham pose while standing on the advertising board. The celebration came as a surprise, given that the Portuguese forward is still owned by Atletico. Furthermore, Atletico president Enrique Cerezo said ahead of the clash that the 24-year-old would be welcome back to the club if the Catalan side failed to sign him. However, Felix has since explained his celebration choice in the post-match conference.

WHAT FELIX SAID

Joao Felix said after the match: “People have been talking about me all week, but I don’t pay attention to that. I’m just doing my job. I don’t care what people say, I work every day to become better. The celebration was spontaneous. It was a release of what I had been through last summer. It was for my family.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

It has been widely reported that Barcelona would definitely want to sign the Portuguese ahead of next season and keep him at the club. But the Catalan side’s financial troubles mean they cannot yet be certain of being able to complete signing of the forward, who spent the back end of last season with Chelsea.

WHAT NEXT FOR FELIX?

With the situation unclear, Felix will still be hoping to help the Catalan side to victory this term, which could in turn help them improve their budget cap for the upcoming summer.