Chelsea and Atletico Madrid finally completed the swap deal of the summer Wednesday, with Joao Felix rejoining the Blues on a permanent transfer and Conor Gallagher heading to the Spanish capital.
Chelsea reportedly agreed to pay around €50 million for Felix, who previously spent a disappointing six-month loan spell at Stamford Bridge during the second half of the 2022-23 season. That deal gave Atletico the funds to complete Gallagher’s move for a reported €42 million.
The transaction was at risk of collapse as recently as last week. Chelsea were reportedly planning to sign Atletico striker Samu Omorodion but switched their focus to Felix after talks with Omorodion broke down.
Gallagher reportedly spent several days waiting in Madrid for his transfer to be finalized, only to return to west London last week to train on his own.
Felix is Chelsea’s 10th signing of the summer window, bringing the club’s total spending above the £200-million mark, according to transfermarkt.com.
“I’m really happy to be back at Chelsea, and I can’t wait to get started,” Felix told Chelsea’s website. “I can see some familiar faces from the last time I was here, which is always nice.
“I loved my time here before, and I told my friends and family that I’d love to return to the Premier League one day. To do that with Chelsea is a great feeling, and I’m excited to be back.”
Despite captaining Chelsea regularly last season, Gallagher quickly became a sacrificial lamb for the club, which has routinely sold off homegrown players for 100% profit to fund extravagant signings.
Chelsea have reportedly spent over £1 billion in the five transfer windows since Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital bought the team from Roman Abramovich in May 2022.
