Benfica perform heartfelt act for Joao Felix despite not even signing him yet

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Benfica look desperate to sign Chelsea forward Joao Felix, who is not part of Enzo Maresca’s plans.

Chelsea only bought Felix last summer, but the 25-year-old spent the second half of the 2024/25 season on loan at AC Milan and remains out of the first-team picture.

Benfica are now keen on bringing him back to the club, but they have yet to agree on a fee with Chelsea.

It has been claimed that Chelsea have slapped a £43m price tag on Felix, which is roughly the same amount of money they paid to sign the Portuguese from Atletico Madrid last August.

• READ MORE: Joao Felix has already rejected two Club World Cup teams this summer as Chelsea try to sell him

Rui Costa reserves No.10 shirt for Chelsea’s Joao Felix

Despite failing to strike an agreement with Chelsea so far, Benfica are already preparing for Felix’s return.

According to Portuguese outlet Record, Benfica president Rui Costa has reserved the No.10 shirt for Felix.

The No.10 shirt is a very special jersey at Benfica, with Costa donning it himself during his time as a player for the club.

It was, of course, also worn by the late Eusebio, one of football’s greatest ever players. Felix could now be the next man to wear the famous shirt at Benfica.

Before then, though, Benfica need to offer Chelsea an acceptable amount of money for the Portugal international, which they have failed to do so far. For now, he remains at Stamford Bridge.

While Chelsea continue to reject Benfica’s advances for Felix, they may have to soften their stance eventually.

Why Benfica believe they can sign Joao Felix despite not meeting Chelsea’s valuation

For as much as Benfica want to sign Felix in this transfer window, they are not in a hurry to pay Chelsea’s asking price.

Benfica’s belief surrounding Felix’s situation is that they could become the only team in for him, which would give Chelsea no choice but to lower their demands in order to offload the former Atletico star.

They are playing the long game but must be quite confident that things will go to plan, given that they have already saved a shirt number for the player.