Barcelona president Joan Laporta insists his club CAN afford to keep on-loan stars Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix despite their financial struggles, with the Catalan giants set to work on long-term deals for the duo

• Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix are currently on season-long loans at Barcelona
• Barcelona’s president says the club can keep them despite their financial woes 
• United are three points behind City… a league table can LIE. There are chasms between them – It’s All Kicking Off

Barcelona president Joan Laporta has confirmed Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix are both viewed as a key part of the club’s long-term plans.

Cancelo and Felix are currently on loan at Barcelona from Manchester City and Atletico Madrid respectively, and the duo have made positive starts to the season under Xavi.

They have scored eight goals between them to help the Catalan giants through to the knockout stages of the Champions League, and kept them in title contention in Spain. 

However, Barcelona’s financial struggles have been well-documented, and they had their salary cap slashed by more than £320m in September, leading to concerns about their ability to sign top players moving forward. Laporta has insisted Barcelona can keep hold of Cancelo and Felix, though, and wants to secure their futures at the club.

‘Cancelo and Felix have been playing on a high level since they joined. The club will be able to keep them for the coming seasons,’ he said. 

Joao Cancelo (left) and Joao Felix (right) have both started their loan spells well at Barcelona

Barcelona president Joan Laporta (centre) has insisted the club can afford to keep both players

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‘We plan to start negotiations for them shortly, and we have good relations with both Man City and Atleti.’

Laporta’s comments suggest that Cancelo’s time at City could be over. The full back played a key role in their success after joining from Juventus in 2019, but he has not played a competitive match for Pep Guardiola’s side since January.

He is currently due to return to City next summer, but that could change soon if Laporta gets his wish.

Meanwhile, Felix became the most expensive teenager ever when he signed for Atletico for £114m in 2019.

But he fell out of favour under Diego Simeone last season and moved to Chelsea on loan in January.

His brief spell at Stamford Bridge was a disappointing one as the Blues finished in the bottom half of the Premier League last season, but he has found form at Barcelona.

He came back to haunt Atletico by scoring the only goal as Barcelona beat them 1-0 last weekend, and a return to Simeone’s side now appears unlikely. 

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