Bayer Leverkusen boss demands 'win-win' scenario on Granit Xhaka transfer
'We have big goals over the next few years,' Rolfes said from Leverkusen's training camp 'That's why a transfer can only happen if it's good for all sides. We'll have to wait and see. But our goal remains for Granit to stay with us.
'Of course, there is interest in him,' Rolfes continued whilst speaking on Xhaka, who has been linked with a move to Sunderland as well. 'We have to talk to the player to find out what his ambitions are. But one thing is clear: there would only be a transfer if it were a win-win situation.
'Our primary interest is in keeping him,' Rolfes concluded.
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'Once a blue, always a blue,' he replied with a blue heart emoji to Chelsea's post on Instagram, confirming his departure this week. Give yourself more credit, Joao, it's twice a Blue and once of Benfica, Atletico, Barcelona (another loan) and Milan. That is five clubs (soon to be six with Al Nassr) represented in seven professional seasons, and potentially north of £200m in transfer fees generated, putting him fourth in football's all-time cumulative list, behind Neymar, Romelu Lukaku and new club-mate Cristiano Ronaldo — all by the age of 25. Advertisement No other high-profile footballer in the world has followed such a strange career arc, one that for at least two years has been leading him, circuitously but inexorably, to Saudi Arabia. 'I'm here to spread joy,' he said, smouldering into the camera in his Al Nassr announcement video. 'Let's win together.' Watching him pose, stride, drape himself in a scarf and cross his arms in sultry silhouette, it is hard not to conclude that he has at least become world class at unveiling himself. "لنُحقّق الفـوز معًا"جواو فيليكس .. نصراوي 💛 — نادي النصر السعودي (@AlNassrFC) July 29, 2025 The fact that the jokes about Joao Felix come so easily is a little depressing. This was the Golden Boy winner in 2019, comfortably seeing off competition from Bundesliga sensations Jadon Sancho and Kai Havertz, and an emerging monster in Salzburg called Erling Haaland, to win the prize for Europe's best under-21 player. Atletico's decision to pay £113m to prise him from Benfica in July of that year after one phenomenal season was patently absurd, but the notion that he could blossom into their version of Lionel Messi or Ronaldo seemed very legitimate. Six years on, Joao Felix has played 15,429 career minutes across all competitions at club level, an average of 2,204 per season. He has never started more than 21 league matches in a single campaign, and never beaten either the 15 league goals or the seven league assists that he registered for Benfica in 2018-19 as a teenager. Admittedly, he did miss 168 days of the 2021-22 season through injury, a total of around 20 games for club and country, according to Transfermarkt. As recently as January 2023, when Chelsea talked themselves into paying a €11m loan fee to bring Joao Felix to Stamford Bridge for five months in a vain attempt to save a lost season, it was still easy to be convinced that his struggles were circumstantial. He had performed well enough to be named Atletico's player of the season in 2021-22, but maybe he was simply a poor fit there, an artist lost in Diego Simeone's team of soldiers. His straight red card for a studs-up tackle on Kenny Tete to kneecap 58 encouragingly bright minutes on his Chelsea debut instantly became a defining tragicomic image of the worst season of the club's modern history. It also remains by far the most memorable contribution of Joao Felix's two spells at Stamford Bridge, and of a Premier League career that extends to just 28 appearances, 14 of which were starts. Advertisement There was little in that first Chelsea stint that merited a sequel. Joao Felix showed more on loan at Barcelona in 2023-24, contributing 10 goals and five assists in 44 appearances across all competitions. Barcelona's finances were a barrier to a permanent deal the following summer, but they still found a way to sign Dani Olmo, another attacking midfielder. Reports that Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca did not want Joao Felix last summer were denied strongly by club officials, but his selection in the first half of last season spoke volumes; the former Atletico man started only three times in the Premier League against the three promoted (and soon to be relegated) sides: Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town. 'It's a shame for Joao and I would like to give him more minutes in the Premier League, but we need defensive balance and we cannot play with Joao, Cole Palmer and Christopher Nkunku,' Maresca said when asked about Joao Felix's lack of league minutes in a press conference in November. 'I'd like to put all of them on the pitch, but then you need to defend, and you need the right balance.' Joao Felix's value was degraded rather than enhanced by an underwhelming loan spell at Milan and Chelsea's decision to sell this summer, for a much lower initial price than they paid a year ago, with the potential to recoup close to the full amount after add-ons, is more of an escape than a win. Even so, there is a sense that the move to Al Nassr might only be for the short term. Joao Felix is 25 and has signed a two-year contract, suggesting he is keeping one eye on a relatively swift return to Europe. And even if he stayed longer, Al Hilal did perform well at the Club World Cup. Saudi teams could compete for major honours in the future. He also still has plenty of fans as well as detractors within the game. Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has never hidden his admiration, creating the potential for a more satisfying third act in the Premier League. Benfica would be the destination to warm the heart above all others, but as was demonstrated this summer, modern football's market forces generally push players away from such romantic reunions. There is no telling where Joao Felix's career will take him next, but the YouTube compilations documenting his time at Al Nassr have already begun to surface. Advertisement Two moments in particular from his first friendly appearance against Toulouse this week stand out. The first is Ronaldo running into Joao Felix at the back post as both men attempted to tap a low cross from the left into an empty net, in what felt like a friendly but firm introduction to Al Nassr's scoring pecking order. The second was Joao Felix receiving the ball just outside his own penalty area with a stepover to his right and then a quick shift to his left, winning a free kick with the kind of high-risk, low-reward skill move that perfectly divides his fans from his critics. Al Nassr fans can expect more of that for as long as he sticks around. Hopefully, they will get some memorable, and even consequential, goals and assists too. It will take more than empty highlights to make European football fans pine for Joao Felix's return.
