Joao Felix has confirmed that he ultimately decided to join AC Milan on the day that the transfer deadline was approaching, despite receiving an unexpected offer to leave Chelsea.
The forward from Portugal has become the second player from the Premier League to move to the Italian giants this winter, following in the footsteps of Kyle Walker from Manchester City. He has signed a loan deal with Milan that will last until the end of the season.
During the summer, he signed a seven-year contract with Chelsea, which cost him £45 million, but he only started three games in the Premier League. He was primarily restricted to cameo appearances and Europa Conference League duty.
After signing with Milan on the day of the transfer deadline, Felix made his debut with a goal in a Coppa Italia victory over Roma. On Sunday, he played 84 minutes in a Serie A victory over Empoli, which resulted in a 2-0 victory for Milan.
There are a number of former Chelsea players currently playing for Rossoneri, including Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori, and Christian Pulisic. The Italian team’s roster is full of players who have previously played for Chelsea.
In addition, Felix has now disclosed the reasons behind his decision to select Milan rather than making a surprise move to their fierce competitors.
“I knew about the greatness of this club,” he said with enthusiasm. “Milan are enormouss. You can tell that it is a very large club from the outside, but once you step inside, you realise that you are in one of the largest clubs in Europe.
“I was already familiar with the coach,” Felix continued, referring to the Portuguese manager Sergio Conceicao. I had played against him, and I followed him. I provided him with a preview of what he could anticipate, which was to play in my role.
“He never told me whether I would play a lot or a little, but he did tell me to play in my role anyway. It was because of this that I decided to travel to Milan.
My agent informed me that Inter was interested in the position. On the other hand, I had already begun communicating with Milan, and I had already made the decision to come here.
“I said it would be impossible, I had already made up my mind.”
