Atlético Madrid face a transfer conundrum as forward João Félix continues to push for a move away from the Spanish club, with his latest step being to directly speak of his “dream” to join a LaLiga rival.

The Portuguese international was sent out on loan to Chelsea in January, but failed to convince during his time in London and has now returned to the Spanish capital. He has joined the Atlético team for pre-season training at their Los Ángeles de San Rafael.

“I’d love to play for Barça,” he told Fabrizio Romano. “Barcelona has always been my first choice and I’d love to join Barça, it was always my dream since I was a kid.” Despite no deal between the clubs, Félix did not hide his desire for it to happen, adding that “if it happens, it will be a dream come true for me”.

The news adds to a sense of frustration around the club regarding Félix’s attitude since rejoining the team this summer, as highlighted by MARCA’s article headlined “Fed up” to describe the situation.

They point to the forward’s visible argument with sporting director Andrea Berta, on the sidelines of the training pitch and in full view of other players and the watching press, as well as the fact that Félix is the first player to head to the dressing room at the end of each session and spends most of his time off the field around his father and entourage, rather than with his team-mates.

Fabrizio Romano, who shared the quotes from the player, spoke about his interaction with Félix. “He wanted to clarify his situation and send a very clear message,” he told Jijantes. “He wanted to talk about Barça and asked me to post his thoughts. His wish is to be a Barça player as soon as possible.”

As was perhaps to be expected, Atleti fans have not taken kindly to the 23-year-old’s public statement of desire to join one of the club’s biggest rivals.

Vandals took to his plaque in the club’s ‘Legend’s Walkway’ featuring the names of every player to have made over 100 appearances for the club. In pictures shared online, Félix’s plaque had been scratched with a cross across his name, alongside the phrase “go to Barça” and a drawing of a rat.

It follows vandalism of another plaque in recent months, as fans removed the plaque belonging to now Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois after the Belgian criticized his former club.

Félix has registered 34 goals and 18 assists in 131 appearances for Atlético Madrid since he became the club’s record transfer signing for €126 million ($141.4 million) in 2019. Despite that, his best return of goals in a LaLiga season has been just eight goals, in 2021/22.

Barcelona could pounce on this interest and seek to seal an agreement with Atlético, but the Colchoneros had, thus far, been keen to agree a permanent exit which Barcelona are unlikely to be able to afford.

If the Catalans can convince Atlético to rid themselves of the problematic youngster, they could complete the switch on loan. Even so, it would not come cheap, with a total estimated cost of €25 million ($28 million) across wages and loan fees.

That is primarily down to the fact that Atlético do not want to absorb amortization costs for Félix in LaLiga’s financial fair play system. Even so, Félix’s departure could encourage them to seek another option in attack for Diego Simeone’s side.